The Zookeeper's Wife

The Zookeeper's Wife

Starring Jessica Chastain, Daniel Bruhl, Johan Heldenbergh, Tim Radford

Directed by Niki Caro

The Story:
In Warsaw, married couple Antonina (Jessica Chastain) and Jan (Johan Heldenbergh) Zabinski own and operate the Warsaw Zoo, and also reside there with their young son Ryszard (Tim Radford).  Fellow zookeeper Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl) - who is also a German - warns that Poland will soon be invaded by German forces at the start of the war, and the Zabinski's zoo is bombed and turned into a base of operations for German troops.  Heck saves the top breed animals from the zoo that were still alive and reveals that he plans on resurrecting long-extinct beasts through genetic engineering.

Meanwhile, Antonina's Jewish friends fall under the oppressive thumb of the Nazis, and the couple agrees to hide their friend at their zoo.  Jan realizes how hard it is for the Jewish people, and together with Antonina decide to house more and more Jews, making their zoo a waystation until they can find a way out of German occupied Poland.  As the number of Jews increase, Antonina must go to great lengths to prevent them from being caught, even if it involves flirting with Heck, who has obvious feelings for her.

The Synopsis:
2017 has been an amazing year for telling the true stories of people you've never heard of, but have had a huge impact on the world.  From Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson's stories from "Hidden Figures" to Saroo Brierley's against-all-odds search to find his family in "Lion," there's no shortage of true-life stories to tug at the heartstrings and make you believe in real-life heroes. 

With "The Zookeeper's Wife," that tradition continues with the true-life story of Antonina Zabinska and Jan Zabinski, who bravely housed 300 Jewish citizens in their Warsaw Zoo during World War II while the German army literally resided right outside their home, and managed to get 298 of them to safety.  While I'm a huge fan of superhero movies, its these type of movies that I really enjoy, because it really happened.  Films like this give us hope that we can achieve the impossible, face our biggest fears and overcome them, and make an eternal difference in the lives of literally thousands of people.

Unfortunately, while "The Zookeeper's Wife" tells the story, it doesn't do so in a very compelling way.  Based off the novel by Diane Ackerman, the actual story is more powerful than what could've been put to screen, but that doesn't mean it should've downplayed a lot of important aspects, yet it did.  The movie focuses more on the made-up tension between Antonina an Heck and less on the actual character buildup of the heroic couple.  The majority of the film is true, but the tense relationship between Antonina and Heck is not, and that's the main thrust of the film.  It affects everyone, from Antonina's fear to Heck's lust to Jan's unbridled jealousy (in all honesty this was the low point of the film, as it's obvious to everyone - besides Jan - that Antonina is flirting in order to save them and their guests they were hiding).  There's little to no backstory on the Zabinskis, and there's no deep depth of character either.  Their bravery seemed under-shadowed by the tension between Antonina and Heck more than anything, to the detriment of the entirety of the film.

The sparks of light comes when you see the opening sequence, watching Antonina lovingly bike through the zoo and tend to the animals, loving them as her own children, and even helping a elephant mother save her newborn child from choking.  We're introduced not just to Antonina, but the animals as well, and we grow a fond emotional bond with them.  When the bombs drop, the animals begin freaking out and dying, and it's a tear-jerker to say the least.  It's all the more impressive that the film doesn't use any CGI - all the animals are real-life animals.  That is a feat in itself in an age that relies heavily on computer generated images, and the director deserves kudos for thinking outside the box.

Tensions rise as Jan smuggles in Jews to the Zoo while the German army occupies the space - in a sense hiding them in plain sight - and the struggle the couple faces in not just protecting their Jewish guests, but themselves as well.  It would've been all the more powerful if, once again, the movie didn't focus almost entirely on Antonina and Heck.  I keep referring back to that, because it's the big glaring omission that prevents the film from achieving the greatness of other Nazi films like "Schindler's List," and it's infuriating because there was so much potential that was wasted.

Speaking of wasted potential, Jessica Chastain is one of today's biggest unsung actresses.  She illuminates the screen and is able to serve as a chameleon, taking on vastly differing types of characters - from a wealthy snobby socialite in "The Help" to a sudden stepmom to a feral child in "Mama" to the steely, no-nonsense lobbyist in "Miss Sloane," yet here she becomes a wallflower, never really stepping to the forefront of the story and seemingly allowing it to overshadow her.  Maybe it's due to her lack of proper Polish accent (that drifts off and on throughout the film), but she never really gets a chance to peak here, which is a shame for such an acclaimed actress.

The Summary:
While "The Zookeeper's Wife" had all the ingredients to make it a tear-jerking World War II film, ultimately it settles for mediocrity and falls victim to these two dreaded words: wasted potential.

The Score: B