Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (693)

Content

The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World

Maya Jasanoff

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A visionary exploration of the life and times of Joseph Conrad, his turbulent age of globalization...

history

Polskie Marki 2.0

Catalogs and Lifestyle

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

"Polskie Marki 2.0 to taka ulepszona Pola, z wygodnym dla użytkownika wpisywaniem konkretnego...

Zomato - Food & Restaurants

Food & Drink and Travel

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

Zomato lets you search for and discover restaurants to eat out at or order in from. Browse through...

Sing, Memory

Makana Eyre

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A Polish musician, a Jewish conductor, a secret choir, and the rescue of a trove of music from the...

Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Zookeeper's Wife (2017) in Movies

Nov 24, 2017 (Updated Nov 24, 2017)

Story is harrowing and essential but film could have been made better

As a massive fan of biopics, The Zookeeper's Wife is an incredibly important tale of a the real life Polish couple who sheltered Jews in their zoo during the Second World War, helping 300 people to escape from Warsaw.

Dr. Jan Zabinski was the director of the Warsaw Zoo in the 1930's, and along with his wife Antonina and young son, they ensured the safety and care of animals in the area. Their life came to an abrupt halt with the German invasion of Poland in 1939, when most of their animals and structures were destroyed in the bombings and siege of the city. The zoo was closed under German occupation, but the Zabinskis continued to occupy the villa, and the zoo itself was used first as a pig farm and subsequently as a fur farm. All the while, Dr Zabinski smuggled Jewish people out of the Warsaw Ghetto and aided their way out of city, not before allowing them to stay in their own house. He was injured while fighting in the Polish resistance, but the couple were given an honorary title by Yad Vashem (Israel's official memorial for Jewish victims of the Holocaust) for their brave efforts.

Similar in the vein of films such as @Schindler's List (1993), there is an element of a saviour complex in these films, but unlike Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winner, it is less extravagant and less well-made, as there was very little engagement with the Jewish characters - focusing more on Antonina, played by Jessica Chastain. It is definitely heart-wrenching watching films based on the holocaust, and there were scenes I had to turn away from, such as when an elderly woman and her mother were shot dead in the streets by soldiers. The script and cinematography weren't at a high standard, however, and as a result the film definitely fell short. I would suggest reading the book @The Zookeeper's Wife - it has far more detail than the film, in which there were glaringly obvious plot holes.