La femme du gardien de zoo

Firstly, I'm quite shocked by the negative reviews. This film stands up next to classics, in particular Schindler's List, to depict the horror of the Jewish suffering and violation in Eastern Europe in WW2. It is not so graphic but shows the lengths non-Jewish people went to, to save their fellow human beings. Intensely poignant and heartbreaking at times. Yes it's not all about zoo animals but that's not really the point. A tale worth telling, and very well told.

A film with promising actors and based upon an incredible true story, however didn't fill up to its high expectations, sadly.

Something that always troubles me, is feeling the need to speak English with an accent to show that they're actually speaking another language. It's in fact ridiculous, knowing that Johan Heldenbergh is pure Belgian (and actually speaks English with a Flemish/Ghent accent) and Jessica Chastain is pure American (her English/polish accent is just ridiculous). Either you just speak plain English or you make the movie with Polish actors. Besides that, Johan Heldenbergh, the zookeeper, (world-renown in Belgium but his first introduction in a bigger US production), was impeccable & perfectly casted.

The film didn't blow me away and was predictable from beginning till the end. Fairly enjoyable for a regular weeknight if you have nothing to do, but will most certainly be forgotten the next day - not anywhere near classic holocaust movies like Schindler's list or The Pianist. Too bad, cause everything was there (especially book & script) to make a much stronger impact.

Another saturated topic, we typically get two or three WWII films a year. Frustratingly, this is another typical holocaust film and one that will not standout against the packed crowd. In saying that though, this is an excellent "story" film to which I was fully immersed. A factual fictionalisation of the Warsaw Zoo surviving WWII where both animals and humans are in danger. The owners soon start to hide Jewish residents within the zoo in an attempt to save their lives from the Nazi holocaust. I expected a film about zookeepers and nearby residents saving animals from Nazi capture, boy was I completely wrong. The zoo animals only take precedent during the first fifteen minutes, and then the narrative's focus is purely on the owners, Jews and the Nazi regime. Soul draining is how I would describe this. It's bleak, depressing and not an ounce of happiness until the last five minutes. Director Niki Caro captures the horror of the holocaust and does not shy away from the brutality of it. She evokes powerful imagery that isn't portrayed in the film, we see a young girl being taken into a tunnel by two Nazi soldiers. We don't see what happens, but the detail in every scene enables us to imagine the terror that unfolded. Another synonymous scene would be when Jewish children are carried onto a train. We know where it's going, but the story never informs us. It's subliminal, and that might be due to the over saturation of this genre. Jessica Chastain stars as the eponymous character in what is one of her more nuanced performances, but emotionally vulnerable. When she cries, my God I feel it. Daniel Brühl was also captivating as the Nazi zoologist. Would I have liked the focus to be strictly on the zoo animals? Yes. It would've been different, less generic and perhaps more emotive. Can I complain about what was presented instead? No. A perfectly good WWII drama that is harrowingly depressing which will not set the cinematic world alight.

The 2017 The Zookeeper's Wife is the best film to watch in all times I have seen it in theaters when it came out 5 years ago I seen it with my dad and my step mom. We really enjoyed the movie that it brought tears to our eyes. I would like to give I shout out to the cast and crew that did very hard work to this film. The dedication it took. I really recommend on watching it if you have it seen it before or if you have seen it I recommend on watching it again it is the best movie ever. The actors/actresses. Did I fantastic job.

The movie is set the 2 world war. This war drama was very good to watch.

"The Zookeeper's Wife" is based on the lives of Antonina and Jan Zabinski, keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, during the German occupation of Poland during World War II. I class this movie in the same league as "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" and "It's A Beautiful Life". These are movies which give viewers credit for having a brain as evidenced by a lack of gratuitous violence, blood, gore, and killing.

We don't need to see animals being blown up or girls being raped to know these things happened and were horrible. I don't find graphic images of such things "entertaining" anyway so I appreciated the lack of shock and horror. Instead the writers and director effectively allude to the horror without abusing me, the viewer. Some will say the movie is a sanitized view of WWII and they would be right. But it didn't diminish the impact of the story, which is the entire point of the film.

The story is one of kindness, bravery, and resilience in the face of Nazi evil. It is simply told in a linear fashion. The movie is well filmed and well acted. As entertainment goes it's good. As far as "message", it's as deep as the viewer wants it to be. I found myself thinking, "What would I do in a similar situation?" And if I find myself asking myself that question rather than turning away I call that successful story-telling. A good movie doesn't need to beat up the audience to drive home it's point.

So, mostly I just wanted to provide a review applauding the restraint of the movie maker. For too long I've had little choice in movies I'd want to watch since so many of them feature explosions, gunplay, graphic scenes of murder and rape, gratuitous use of obscenity, profanity, and vulgarity, and rarely give me credit for having any kind of discernment as they beat me over the head with some heavy-handed "message" usually about something with which I completely disagree. "The Zookeeper's Wife" doesn't employ any of these tired, ugly devices. I didn't once feel manipulated. It's not a perfect movie but it was entertaining and left me with plenty to ponder and talk about with others.