Under those circumstances, the young couple of Jan and Antonina Zabinski continue their daily routine as owners and keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, but soon, as German Luftwaffe's Stukas hammer the Polish capital, their life's work together with the city, will turn to ashes. While it won’t be an Oscar contender in any category, (the March curse is obviously real), “ The Zookeeper’s Wife” should please fans of the bestselling book.War brews over Warsaw in 1939, and while life is still running its course, the Germans are slowly beginning to make their presence felt, with Hitler secretly preparing for the German invasion of Poland. It just never rises above similar films and doesn’t pack the emotional punch the trailer almost falsely advertises.
“ The Zookeeper’s Wife” isn’t a bad film, it accomplishes the goal of bringing the Zabinski’s courageous efforts to the masses in an accessible movie. “ Game of Thrones” Michael McElhatton, who might have been better cast as Jan, plays a minor character, going against his familiar Bolton persona. It’s not however, along the caliber of the material like “ Miss Sloane” where she stuns the viewer with her talent. I had no problem with Chastain’s accent and her performance, the material she is given, suits her fine. Another subplot featuring Jan joining the resistance also seems to appear out of nowhere. There is also an editing problem here, midway through the film, after a love scene that I suppose is more important than we realize, all of a sudden Antonina is ready to give birth. “ The Woman in Gold”, “ Allied”, “ Anthropoid”), and the Zabinski’s certainly fit that bill. We get numerous films each year that showcase a new interesting facet of WWII (i.e. I think that’s where the film delivers the most disappointment, falling in line as a procedural WWII genre film instead of reaching out and touching the viewer. While it’s obvious Sigur Rós wasn’t doing the score for the film (although they did for “ Captain Fantastic” last year), “ Live by Night” composer Harry Gregson-Williams original composition does not stir the emotions. Takes this year’s award for advertising excellence and delivering mediocrity. Antonia must play a dangerous game with Heck who visits her often, while she allows his affections to shield their secret in the basement. If their guests below hear the piano playing during the day, they must remain absolutely quiet, heard at night means safe to come out. With so many Jews being hauled off to the camps, Antonina proposes they shelter as many as they can hide in their basement, A Human Zoo she calls it. Hitler’s top Zooologist Lutz Heck (Brühl) has made a deal with the Zabinski’s, taking some of the animals to his zoo for safe keeping and experimentation. Many of their most prized animals shot and killed by Nazi’s under order. In 1939, with the world at war, the zoo was bombed and the zoo closed. Jan Zabinski (Heldenbergh) and his wife Antonina (Chastain) run the Warsaw Zoo in Poland, bringing happiness to both people and animals with their exhibits. She directed both Keisha Castle Hughes (“Whale Rider”) and Charlize Theron (“North Country”) to Oscar nominations early in her career. Acclaimed New Zealand director Niki Caro (“ McFarland USA”) is behind the camera here. Along with her husband, the duo helped save hundreds of Jews during WWII making this a “Schindler’s List” type vehicle. Two time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain (“ The Help”, “ Zero Dark Thirty”) is the selling point of the film, bringing the courageous Polish zookeeper Antonina Zabinski to life. Like “ Suffragette” in 2015, “ A Light Between Oceans” last year, “ The Zookeeper’s Wife” takes this year’s award for advertising excellence and delivering mediocrity.
Well, I found it! No, not the best film of the year, but the yearly pre-award season movie I get excited for, based on an impeccable trailer and cast (that Sigur Rós music sealed the deal).
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