The Zookeeper's Wife

When you picture the most heart-wrenching, emotionally devastating human stories, the Holocaust and World War II probably come to mind. There’s a reason that time and time again, stories from that dark age in human history makes its way to film. “The Zookeeper’s Wife” comes with high expectations and meets almost all of them. It’s an emotional, touching and moving story. The only thing it truly suffers from is being placed right next to cinematic giants, which it unfortunately doesn’t quite measure up with. Nonetheless, it’s a good film.

Based on the true story, the film follows Dr. Jan Żabiński (Johan Heldenbergh) and his wife, Antonina (Jessica Chastain), the Warsaw Zoo’s keepers. As World War II breaks, most of the animals are killed and the couple struggle to make ends meet. Despite the occupation of Nazi soldiers, Jan and Antonina begin rescuing and smuggling Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, ever fearful that “Hitler’s zoologist”, Dr. Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl) will discover what they are up to.

What “The Zookeeper’s Wife” does very well is help you understand its characters. Chastain and Heidenbergh do an excellent job conveying people who are stuck in an incredibly difficult situation that’s wrought with complex moral dilemmas. Numerous times throughout they have to make tough choices that could mean life of death for their animals (the ones that survive the initial bombing of Warsaw), the people they seek to rescue or for themselves. You pray that they make the right call, while still unsure yourself of what that choice actually is. I wasn’t familiar with this story before heading to the theatre, and you’re unlikely to be as well. That means you have no idea when the picture is going to end unless you’ve got an incredible internal clock. Even then, you don’t how where any of these people are going to end up, who is going to die and who (if anyone) is going to make it out alive. Then on top of that, there’s very human drama happening. Amidst the stress of harboring fugitives and of putting on a façade while staying defiant, Jan and Antonina go through very real and understandable personal distress. It escalates the drama to a level that feels real and keeps you invested throughout.

I was worried going into the theater that the human characters would not get as fleshed out as some of the zoo animals. That’s not the case. This film is about a woman who loves animals, but it’s about people. I am nevertheless a bit disappointed with the time spent on the side characters. Daniel Brühl’s Dr. Heck does alright. He’s not just a one-note villain. Some of the people being rescued, however, could’ve used more screentime, or a little bit more something. In Shira Haas’ Ursula, I saw an aspect of this abominable war that, to my knowledge hasn’t really been brought to the screen before and I would’ve liked to have gotten to know her better. Her story just sort of peters out. In fact, the film’s ending as a whole is a bit weak. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t contain the same level of excitement as the rest of the film does.

“The Zookeeper’s Wife” is not as emotionally devastating as it could be. Just a little bit more and this could’ve easily brought me to tears. It’s not going to be remembered as one of the great films set during WWII, but it offers plenty of drama, emotion, and entertainment. I enjoyed this story of a hero that displays very (and don’t take this the wrong way) feminine qualities. Antonina isn’t going to pick up a gun or angrily print anti-Hitler posters, she resists evil forces with empathy, compassion, and love. “The Zookeeper’s Wife” is a reminder that heroes come in all shapes and sizes and I think it’s important to recognize this. (theatrical version on the big screen, April 12, 2017)