User reviews

I enjoyed The Zookeeper's Wife and would recommend it to most audiences. Skillful direction by Niki Caro, excellent sets and costumes, a slightly washed-out look to the cinematography which nonetheless has a full range of color, and a capable cast. The story is based on the actions of the owners of the Warsaw Zoo, who saved the lives of more than three hundred Jews during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

Nonetheless, the performance of Jessica Chastain is the single most important factor in the film. Unlike many American actors, she understands that a Polish woman of the 1940s does not look, move, or carry her features like a contemporary American. So fully does Miss Chastain inhabit her character that I never had the sense of an actress making choices.

The film is a bit long and a bit slow, like most films today, but not to a damaging extent. I particularly admired the way that the official from the Berlin Zoo who becomes a Nazi officer, well played by Daniel Bruhl, has certain scruples and personal moral standards although he embraces the Nazi philosophy. He's a villain, but not a cardboard villain, and part of the suspense of the film is waiting to see which lines he will cross and which he won't.

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 Zookeeper's Wife, a poignant symphony of courage and compassion. Jessica Chastain's performance as Antonina Zabinska was a masterclass in emotional depth, breathing life into a character whose strength resonated long after the credits rolled. The film editing wove a seamless narrative, navigating the delicate balance between heart-wrenching moments and the glimmers of hope that defined the Zabinskis' wartime experience. The movie's strength lies in its ability to portray the resilience of the human spirit amidst the darkest of times. While it occasionally felt like certain aspects were touched upon too lightly, the music served as a gentle yet powerful undertone, enhancing the emotional impact. The cinematography painted a vivid portrait of both the beauty and brutality of war-torn Warsaw. At 7/10, The Zookeeper's Wife is a moving testament to humanity's capacity for kindness in the face of adversity.

Based on the non-fiction book of the same name, 'The Zookeeper's Wife' recounts the true story of the husband-and-wife couple, Jan and Antonina Żabiński, who secretly sheltered Jews during the German invasion of Poland from 1939 to 1945 on their premises of the Warsaw Zoo, thus enabling these Polish Jews to escape from the infamous Warsaw Ghetto and the eventual extermination of the place as well as its inhabitants within.

At its heart, this is a celebration of ordinary heroes – that is, of ordinary men and women who have displayed extraordinary heroism during extraordinary times. Such tales are often told with sycophantic adulation, which runs counter to the nature of their character/s and ultimately leaves one feeling patronized. Thankfully, its director Niki Caro knows her way around such celebrations of heroism (as evinced by her previous works like 'Whale Rider', 'North Country' and 'McFarland, USA'), placing emphasis on the difficult circumstances of the war in order to demonstrate the Żabińskis' bravery rather than on exalting the characters per se. Scenes of life pre- and post-invasion, of life behind the ghettos and of the nail-biting process of sneaking the Jews out of the ghettos are played out with attention to detail and realism, just so the context under which the Żabińskis were living under as well as the danger they were putting themselves and their only son Ryszard under are felt keenly and profoundly – hence illuminating the spirit of valour and self-sacrifice their deeds exemplified.

Those who have read Diane Ackerman's source novel will probably know that her narration is as much about Jan and Antonina Żabiński as it is about Lutz Heck, the duplicitous head of the Berlin Zoo whom the Żabińskis first meet before the war and who eventually turns out to be one of the prominent figures of the German war office in Poland. Like in the book, Lutz aimed to recreate pureblood versions of certain extinct species; and for dramatic impact, instead of transporting some of the cattle from the Warsaw Zoo to run his animal eugenics programme back in Berlin, Lutz (as played by Daniel Bruhl) does so right on the grounds of the former. That deviation allows screenwriter Angela Workman to fashion a rather unnecessary subplot between Antonina and Lutz, which sees Lutz develop a personal liking for Antonina and concomitantly engendering marital tension between Jan and Antonina. As distracting as that may be, it is consoling that neither Lutz nor the Germans in particular are demonized; in fact, the former's on screen representation shows an unexpectedly benevolent side at the end that may in fact be kinder than his real-life person.

In turn, the horrors of the Holocaust are depicted through a fictional character which Caro has said was her idea. Played by Israeli actress Shira Haas, Urszula is a barely teenage girl whom Jan encounters on his maiden trip into the ghetto bleeding and shaken after being raped by two German male soldiers. Against better judgment, Jan conceals her right under the driver's seat of his truck (under his son's feet, no less) in order to help her escape from any further misery. Though manipulative, Urszula's addition is arguably an effective device through which Caro conveys the magnitude of the Żabińskis' rescue efforts – not only is she intended to be emblematic of the suffering and subsequent trauma that the Jewish children no doubt endured during the German invasion, she is the face of the persecuted Jewish, personifying the 'human' in humanity. Her recovery is also representative of the hope that the Żabińskis' act of wartime courage gave to the 300 Jews that they saved in the six years of the German occupation.

As with such historical dramatisations, the strength of the performances determines whether the film itself ends up being compelling – and sure enough, that 'The Zookeeper's Wife' is fascinating to watch from start to finish is testament to the strong cast. However cynical you may be of Jessica Chastain's casting as Antonina which therefore requires the Hollywood actress to put on a Polish accent, she is undeniably captivating as the eponymous lead, channeling grit and vulnerability in equal measure as she fleshes out her character's fears, anxieties and convictions. Her stripped- down performance complements that of Belgian actor Johan Heldenbergh, who may not have matinée-idol looks but certainly the gravitas to play a resolute volunteer for the underground Polish resistance. Among the supporting actors, Bruhl and Haas are the standouts, the former exercising admirable restraint in what could have been a traditionally villainous act while the latter surprisingly nuanced in her portrayal of the most visible victim of Nazi sadism.

Many a story has been told of ordinary men and women who have displayed extraordinary heroism during the Holocaust, and 'The Zookeeper's Wife' stands out among one of the better ones by simply telling its story well without embellishment or worse exaggeration. Even better, it underscores the emotional devastation of war without violence or gore; rather, with emphasis on authenticity, the film lays bare the communities torn apart when the Germans invaded, the sheer hopelessness of those who were oppressed, and the sacrifices that one must sometimes make in order to achieve a loftier, nobler purpose during such challenging times. Especially when some world leaders seem to have forgotten the importance of world peace, this is as apt a reminder as any that the cost of war is immeasurable, immutable and perhaps even irreversible.

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.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Zookepers Wife" (2017) is not a great movie about WW2 ir Holocaust, or even a great movie at all. But it is efficient and well made enough that I could mildly recommend it. Based on true events it tells a story worth to tell, maybe even more worth a better movie. But on the other hand not all movie can be "Schindler's List" or "Pianist" and come even close - this is one is not in the same league or comes even close. At running time 1 h 55 min it does drag here and there, some dialogs were predictable and too melodramatic. But still what it does it does well enough to check this one once if you are in a mood for descent WW2 survival story.

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.

"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.

This is a movie everyone should see.

It's truly inspiring, it makes you think about humanity and shows you the creations of cruelty, hate alongside with what love, compassion, and courage can achieve.

The whole cast was great especially the outstanding Jessica Chastain. The natural bond she has with the animals like the real Antonina Zabinski is so magical.

Knowing the movie is based on a true story makes your heart break. But seeing these lovely, kindhearted people saving so many others is raising hope even for the times we're living in now.

It's a heavy movie, but I definitely recommend it.

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.

"The risk of the Holocaust is not that it will be forgotten, but that it will be embalmed and surrounded by monuments and used to absolve all future sins." Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman

With no end to the sad stories of the Holocaust, now The Zookeeper's Wife adds another drama out of Warsaw in the early 1940's as the Nazis begin to move Jews into its ghetto and eventually to concentration camps. The truth-based tale is another worthy entry in Holocaust cinema, along with Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008).

No matter the similarities with Schindler's List (1993) and Inglourious Basterds (2009), this drama is just as nail biting and terrible as the best of them. Antonina Zabinski (Jessica Chastain) watches over The Warsaw Zoo with her doctor husband, Jan (Johan Heldenbergh). Eventually the Nazi command, personified by randy zoologist Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl), takes over. Antonina's empathy for the animals is an antidote to Nazi indifference. I dare you not to be moved by the lyrical opening as she rides her bicycle through the zoo in early morning calling endearingly to the animals or her rescuing a suffocating baby elephant.

Meanwhile, after being mercilessly bombed, the remnants of the zoo serve as hideaway and eventual transport for hundreds of Jews. Director Niki Caro does an effective job creating tension by cutting between daily activity on the street and the hidden Jews. The concentration on Antonia's face allows for multiple dramatic notes as she navigates between her animals and Jewish charges.

In fact, another graceful artistic direction is not overdoing the built- in figurative comparison between those hiding and those innocent animals, which are always in the open and vulnerable. A sweet, poetic circumstance usually contrasts with the unimaginable horror. The animals serve as a subtle reminder of lost innocence: "You look in their eyes," and you know exactly what is in their hearts." Antonina

The Zookeeper's Wife is a first-rate entry in the chronicles of The Holocaust and a powerful reason to continue to tell the story lest it happen again.

This biographical tearjerker might leave you split up in two: one part shedding tears over the animals in the zoo and the other part over the fellow men hunted by the Third Reich.

"The Zookeeper's Wife" tells the true horrifying story of the crimes committed in the Warsaw Zoo during the Nazi occupation of a war-torn Poland. Jessica Chastain plays the main character who together with her husband Jan Zabinski, played brilliantly by Belgian actor Johan Heldenbergh, save thousands of Jews from the arms of the Nazi regime.

The movie felt like it did not draw enough attention to the animals and I believe that's what made the premise appealing in the first place. No one would think of how animals reacted to the atrocities of World War II and this film could have been the chance to do it. Instead it heavily features the refugees, a depiction that has been painted many times on the silver screen.

"The Zookeeper's Wife" is a decent film, but ultimately it doesn't stand out from others within the genre.

Outstanding effort by everyone involved. True story -- one of heroes we didn't know even existed. The acting from the leads and support cast and direction give life to a wonderful story. Should say Academy Award winner, Golden Globe award winner, People's Choice award winner. Oh well - Hollyweird politics.

Greetings again from the darkness. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Director Niki Caro (North Country, Whale Rider) introduces us to the story of zookeeper Jan Zabinski and his wife Antonina. The couple is a stunning example of heroism and bravery and compassion – both in cuddling with tiger cubs and in assisting approximately 300 Jews escape to freedom during the Nazi invasion of Warsaw in 1939. You might think of this as Schindler's Zoo.

We first see Antonina (Jessica Chastain) as an angelic figure pedaling her bike through the zoo during morning rounds with a trotting young camel alongside, and soon thereafter helping rescue a newborn elephant from peril. It's an idealistic image that appears shattered as soon as the German bombs begin dropping on Warsaw and the zoo. But the true story of what actually happened is more heartwarming and inspiring than a dozen fuzzy bunnies or peach-eating hippos.

Diane Ackerman's 2007 book was based on the diaries of Jan and Antonina Zabinski, and is adapted for the screen by Angela Workman. Yes, that's right … a woman director and woman writer collaborating on a film version of a book written by a woman about another woman! Some may say the film is too glossy and skips over the brutality of the Nazi's, but this is the story of a brave, compassionate woman and how she and her husband risked their lives to save others. There is no shortage of films that depict the horrific tragedies that occurred in concentration camps, so it seems we should certainly celebrate the kind and courageous who did all they could in rescue efforts, as they used the Warsaw Zoo as a way to hide Jews in plain sight.

In addition to Ms. Chastain, who sports an unusual Russian accent throughout, Johan Heldenberg plays her husband, and Daniel Bruhl plays Lutz Heck – Hitler's Chief Zoologist at the Berlin Zoo. The scenes between Heck and Antonina are excruciating as he first charms her with his love of animals, and then later frightens her with his unwanted advances and desire to cross-breed animals in hopes of creating superbeasts (sound familiar?).

One of the key messages seems to come from an early monologue delivered by Antonina where she compares the purity of animals (their eyes tell you everything) with the propensity to deceive and commonplace of ulterior motives in humans. While she prefers one approach over the other, it's obvious that Antonina values all life and will pay whatever price necessary to save others. She has her chance to run, but chooses to stay and fight evil in the only way she knows how. Here's hoping the film doesn't begin a fad of pet skunks, but its message of compassion and courage is never out of place. The story runs from 1939 through 1946 and reminds us that heroes are amongst us always, and their journey can be both stressful and inspiring.

"The Zookeeper's Wife" is a strong story. The 2017 film adaptation suffers from a weak script and direction that do not serve the story. Jessica Chastain gives a superb, understated performance as Antonina Zabinska, a real person. Antonina was a gifted zookeeper – why call her "wife"? – who helped save 300 Jews in Warsaw, Poland, during the Nazi occupation. She and her husband Jan were part of the Polish Underground and Armia Krajowa, or Home Army. The film is worth seeing to see their story, but it's just an okay film, not the great one it could have been.

Jessica Chastain is externally very beautiful and fragile-appearing. In her understated performance, she plays a resourceful, animal-loving Polish lady to perfection. She's the center of the film. All of the other characters are in the shadow of Chastain's central light.

Lutz Heck had the Nazi-goal of reviving extinct species like the aurochs and the tarpan – primitive cattle and horses. Heck participated in the looting of the Warsaw Zoo. He selected which animals he wanted shipped back to his own Berlin zoo. Heck also lusted after Antonina. She had to do a careful dance of manipulation of Heck to protect her activity saving Jews. Heck is played by Daniel Bruhl, who also played a lovelorn Nazi in "Inglorious Bastards."

Czech playwright Arnost Goldflam appears as Janusz Korczak, the author, broadcaster, children's rights advocate, physician, and overseer of an orphanage. Korczak famously stayed with his orphans rather than accept any of the many offers he received to be smuggled out of the Warsaw Ghetto. The real Janusz Korczak was a slim man; Goldflam is portly. His appearance not only doesn't mesh with the real Korczak. Goldflam doesn't look like someone who'd been living under starvation conditions forced by the Nazis for the past three years. The scenes with Korczak and his orphans did make me cry, but they seem like a detour from the film's main narrative.

One problem the film faced: we have all seen Holocaust movies. Sad but true, during much of this film I was simply disinterested, waiting for it to show me something I had not seen in another film, to tell me something I had not yet heard. The film opens with Antonina happily taking care of her lion cubs, pregnant elephant, devoted young camel, and her son's pet skunk. We all know what will happen next: Nazi planes will bomb; Jews will begin to wear armbands. Brutality will increase and then there will be mass transports on trains.

Perhaps the film could have opened in media res, during the Nazi bombardment, and focused more closely on Antonina's interior life. The film tosses away references to her tragic history. Her parents were murdered by the Soviets and she had had to live on the run. Why not weave those facts into a richer portrait of the central character?

Poles who helped Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland had to scrounge food for their wards while they, the Poles, lived under forced starvation conditions. They also had to dispose of human waste without drawing any attention to themselves. The film never explores how the Zabinskis managed these considerable feats.

The film falls into a historically revisionist trap when it implies that Nazis were interested only in Jews, and Polish Catholics were allowed to live out the war in beautiful clothing. Nazis served Poles brandy in snifters and politely debated their actions. The film also implies that Nazi policies were in effect in Poland before the war began. Antonina and her son Ryszard see Jewish porters carrying heavy loads in Warsaw's market. Antonina makes a comment about how "they" are mistreating Jews. The scene is simply misleading.

Too, Nazis murdered and displaced more Polish non-Jews in the early days of the war than Polish Jews, but the film depicts Nazis as focusing almost exclusively on persecuting Jews. When the Nazi invasion begins, Jan makes a comment about how he has nothing against Jews. This is just a dumb thing for him to say. The bombardment of Warsaw was a thousand times worse than the film suggests. There are scenes were some herd animals are buried and others are set free in a forest. Poland was so desperate during the war that those animals would have more likely been butchered for meat, as happened to horses that fell in Warsaw's streets. The film just wants to tell a simple- minded, and false, story about privileged Poles and persecuted Jews. If the film had conveyed the threat the Germans posed to non-Jewish Poles as well as Jewish ones, the Zabinskis heroism would have been revealed as even more profound.

Poles fought much more than the film depicts. Jan Zabinski was a member of the Armia Krajowa, or Home Army. He taught in the underground university. He sabotaged trains and built bombs. None of this is shown in the film. Jan comes across as a hapless victim who can only stand by open-mouthed and watch as his wife attempts to twist lovelorn Nazi Heck around her sexy finger.

Polish-Jewish relations during the war were very, very, very complicated. I'm not using too many "verys." The film depicts Poles helping Jews, but it makes virtually no mention of Polish anti- Semitism. Not all Poles were heroes. Some betrayed Jews and their rescuers to the Nazis. In one scene, a Pole witnesses Antonina help a Jew. The Pole promises Antonina she will not betray her work. Had this eyewitness betrayed Antonina, the Nazis would have murdered the entire family, including Ryszard, the young son. These tensions and obstacles are only hinted at in the film.

This is my absolute favorite historical movie and rewatching it is something I will never get tired of. This movie never fails to make me ball my eyes out. The story is based on a couple who owned the Warsaw zoo and how they managed to save the lives of hundreds of Jews during the Nazi invasion in Poland. Jessica Chastain is such a profound actress who elevates this remarkable story in a way only she could. The duality of the couple saving not only the jewish people, but their animals was one that makes this movie stand out to me more than any WW2 film. Bring lots of tissues and be warned of the emotional damage you will feel after.

This film tells the story of a couple who runs a zoo in German occupied Poland. When the horrible persecution begins, they decide to hide Jews in their zoo to prevent them from being persecuted.

"The Zookeeper's Wife" is a very touching film. It is remarkable that they find enormous courage to help people they don't know, risking their lives many times in the process. The scene where their Jewish friend ask them if they are really sure if he can stay in their zoo, it is very touching because it is what is not says that is profoundly touching. It is a beautiful story with a beautiful ending.

There have been a number of films regarding the holocaust, WWII, the sacrifices and persecution of the Jews by Germany and the few that hid and helped many Jews escape death. This film is another story of just such activity and a thoughtful rendering of the price that is paid by those who sacrificed their lives to save the lives of others.