Cfoudyrun I can see why this film never really garnered a wide-release and was completely under the radar for any televised awards show. This film is worse than bad. It portrays the main characters as incompetent and idiotic instead of the brave and intelligent people that they were. But to be fair, this is due more to the awful writing than the performances (which were fine). The writing devolved a potentially gripping and dramatic story into melodramatic schlock. If you are looking for a good representation of the struggles of the holocaust, watch Schindler's List, Boy in the Striped Pajamas or read "Maus" or "Night"; please do not watch this garbage.

alindsay-al This film has a very interesting back story so I was interested in watching it and I have now seen it and unfortunately though not terrible this film is incredibly forgettable. The premise of the film is based on a true story that sees a couple hide Jewish refugees in there zoo from the nazis. Jessica chastain plays the lead in the film and this isn't one of her best performances, she is clearly passionate about the role and she does her best with what she is given. But she overacts all the way through this movie and she feels very wooden and not real at all. Her emotional scenes usually come across as forced and very much like it is a script and not her if that makes sense. The supporting cast is a mixed bag, I liked the actor who plays her husband I thought he gave the best performance in the film but even he starts to overact towards the end of the film. Daniel bruhl is in this film and he does a decent job especially at the beginning of the film but as the film progresses his character becomes as cliché as you can get. Nobody else in the film gets any important screen time so when the film asks you to care you just don't which hurts the film. As mentioned before the story has an interesting concept and It is a bit interesting to watch and wonder how these people did what they did. But there are so many problems, there are aspects of the film that aren't expanded on enough and aspects that are focused on too much. It is a highly predictable film which doesn't give any surprises at all. The script has some decent drama with some particularly uncomfortable scenes that work well. Though there is absolutely no humour or life in this film even when these people are meant to be happy it just feels unreal. The style of the film looks good with the sets and animals especially coming across well, but this films pacing is really poor and just feels boring. Also this film has a really confusing way of showing time and how much has passed and it made it hard to follow. Overall this film isn't that bad it just is really forgettable and not worth a watch as you won't remember it.

jadepietro GRADE: B-THE FILM IS RECOMMENDED.The Zookeeper 's Wife tells the important story of the Nazi Occupation in Poland and trivializes it with heavy handed sentimentality. The film tells the true story (with way too much melodrama) of Antonina and Jan Zabinski, zookeepers at the Warsaw Zoo, who decide to save some wild animals and many Jews from the Nazis during 1940 until 1945. The obvious symbolism of the newly caged Jews hidden within the walls of the zoo is not easily missed and probably the most subtle reference in this entire film. (Historically, the Zabinskis rescued nearly 300 Jews from their certain deaths.)The Zookeeper's Wife is a well made film, but the subject matter of the Holocaust and its systematic destruction of the Jewish people deserves a more realistic treatment. Although director Niki Caro earnestly tries to tell the story with serious intent, she overstates the obvious throughout the film. The simplistic screenplay by Angela Workman depicts Good vs. Evil in the broadest of terms. To her credit, Ms. Caro creates some powerful images and doesn't shy away from the ugly atrocities upon the Polish people but, the characters, in general, lack depth and rarely seem authentic. The actors play their roles with conviction. Jessica Chastain tackles the part of Antonina and she is a believable presence. As her stoic husband, Johan Heldenbergh is quite compelling. Daniel Bruhl balances his stock character, Lutz Heck, a Nazi sympathizer and animal lover, with a refreshing degree of nuance. He makes one believe in this conflicted man.However, too often, facts make way for fiction in this film adaptation for the sake of dramatic conflict. Though far from accurate, Lutz's infatuation with Antonina becomes a central issue of the story. Also a fine young actress named Shira Haas is cast as Urzula, a totally fictional character much maligned by the Nazi soldiers. While the actress is very effective in her supporting turn, one wishes the filmmakers stayed true to more historic accounts of real events.The Zookeeper's Wife has much to admire, if one can accept the oversimplifications and soap opera plotting presented as truth.

tubaman-8 I don't usually write reviews, but I saw this movie last night and after reading some of the reviews on this page I had to respond. This movie apparently brought out the Nazi apologists who found it necessary to write reviews about how the Nazis "weren't that bad" and why do movies keep depicting them that way. These revisionists need to be called out for what they are, white supremacists.This movie tells the true story about a family that used their zoo to rescue 300 Jews from death in the Warsaw Ghetto or ultimately death in a death camp, which is what happened to most of the people who survived the ghetto before it was burned down. These revisionists are trying to say that the Nazis weren't that bad, but I was on the board of directors of the Holocaust Center of Central Florida in the mid 90s and knew a number of holocaust survivors quite well. Their stories if anything make the events portrayed in this film somewhat tame in comparison. The Nazis should have been portrayed as even more callous and evil to be accurate. As for the movie, I did find that it wasn't the most effective telling of this true story. A number of embellishments were made to the story, I assume for dramatic effect, but many of them just didn't work. To me some of them made what was already an incredible story become completely implausible. I'm not going into detail so as not to give out any spoilers, but I suggest that people should read the book if they want to know the real heroism of this couple. I also found the dialog somewhat stilted at times and the story presented in a somewhat disjointed way.Still, the movie provides another reminder of the evil that was Nazi Germany and how there were people who heroically risked their lives to try to fight back against it. I may have liked it more if I hadn't already known the story and read the book, but overall I found it to be a good, if not great movie.