The Zookeeper's Wife (film)

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The Zookeeper's Wife is a 2017 war drama film directed by Niki Caro, written by Angela Workman and based on Diane Ackerman's non-fiction book of the same name. The film tells the true story of how Jan and Antonina ?abi?ski rescued hundreds of Jews from the Germans by hiding them in their zoo during World War II. It stars Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Michael McElhatton and Daniel Brühl.

The film had its world premiere on March 8, 2017 in Warsaw, Poland, the location of the story, followed by its US premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California, on March 12, 2017. The film was released in the United States on March 31, 2017, by Focus Features, and by Universal Pictures International in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2017. It received mixed reviews from critics but a positive response from audiences, and grossed $23 million worldwide.

Video The Zookeeper's Wife (film)

Plot

Dr. Jan ?abi?ski (Johan Heldenbergh) and his wife, Antonina (Jessica Chastain), are the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo (Miejski Ogród Zoologiczny), one of the largest and most prolific zoos in 1930s Europe. In the calm of August 1939, Antonina rides her bicycle through the beautiful zoo grounds, greeting a hippo, horses, bison, and followed faithfully by Adam, a baby camel. She opens the zoo gates with Jerzyk, another zookeeper. A crowd has already gathered to view the many species on display. Jan is the director of the zoo and faces the scornful, yet envious advances of a colleague, Dr. Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl), the head of the Berlin Zoo and Adolf Hitler's chief zoologist.

On September 1, 1939, Antonina and her son Ryszard (Timothy Radford and later, Val Maloku) are shocked witnesses to the aerial bombardment of Warsaw as German forces storm Poland. The zoo is not spared; bombs raze the cages and kill many of the animals. Lions, tigers, monkeys and kangaroo take to the streets. As Polish resistance collapses under overwhelming odds, Heck arrives at the zoo, convincing Antonina to let him save her prize animals as a "loan." He promises to return them to Warsaw when the war ends, which he believes will be soon. With the onset of winter, Heck returns with Nazi soldiers, but this time he has come to shoot the remaining animals, which he says will otherwise die in the cold. Something sinister has invaded Heck, revealed in the cold delight he takes in shooting an eagle, then casually telling an aide to have it stuffed. It becomes evident that Heck has begun to keep a subtle, romantic eye on Antonina.

Warsaw becomes the scene of monstrous upheaval. Jewish-owned shops are shuttered, and Jews are herded into the Ghetto. Wearing Star of David armbands, two of the Zabinskis' friends, Maurycy Fraenkel (Iddo Goldberg) and his partner Magda Gross (Efrat Dor), seek a haven, not for themselves but for another friend's notable insect collection. Antonina makes an unusual offer to shelter Magda in an attic closet. Jan and Antonina take stock of what defiance of the Germans would mean, and how dangerous it would be: they can be shot simply for offering a Jew a glass of water. But they come to the realization that, in their zoo, they can save one life. Magda Gross is the first.

With the zoo abandoned, Jan and Antonina seek out Heck at his headquarters in Warsaw. The couple make a daring proposal to turn the zoo into a pig farm. They secretly hope to help Jews by bringing food into the Ghetto, but they tell Heck that, with pigs, they can help feed the German occupying forces. Heck is intrigued; he needs a home for his experiments on recreating ancient beasts as a symbol of the Reich. He agrees to the pig farm idea.

Jan begins retrieving garbage scraps from the Ghetto to feed the pigs; the sights he sees there, of starving Jews, is shocking and unbearable. Jan begins to work with the Underground Army, to spirit Jews from the Ghetto to safehouses in other parts of the country. He sneaks them out in his garbage truck, taking them to the zoo, where they hide in animal cages, tunnels, and inside the Zabinski house. After some trepidation, Antonina agrees to help. It's not easy for her at first, but she has a gift with frightened creatures and learns how to comfort even the most terrified people.

While trying to rescue a group of Jews, Jan discovers a young girl, Urszula (Shira Haas), being raped by two Nazi guards. Jan hides Urszula in his truck and sneaks her into the zoo. She is traumatized and refuses to speak; she is like a feral animal. Antonina slowly draws her out by telling her the story of her own hard childhood, and by giving her a baby rabbit. Urszula eventually loses her fear and becomes part of the secret household of hidden Jews.

The ?abi?skis continue to sneak Jews out of the Ghetto, hiding them in the zoo or disguising them as Aryan by bleaching their hair and taking them to safehouses. However, in 1942, the Germans begin deporting Jews to the death camps. Jan is devastated to see young children being put into cattle cars, to be taken to the camps. They reach for his hand, leaving him no choice but to help them into a cattle car, beneath the eyes of German police.

In 1943, two women rescued by Jan and disguised as Aryan by Antonina are arrested and executed in a Warsaw street. Several months later, after a failed uprising, the Germans announce their intention to liquidate the Ghetto. It will happen on Hitler's birthday, which also falls on the first night of Passover. While the Jews mournfully celebrate a secret Passover seder in the zoo, the Germans burn down the Ghetto, killing any remaining Jews inside.

Several months later, Antonina has become pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl, whom Ryszard names Teresa. As Heck's attraction to Antonina deepens, and as she struggles to fend him off while still guarding their secret "Guests," Jan participates in the Warsaw uprising, in which he is shot in the neck and captured. Antonina worries and wishes that he will return to reunite with them.

In January 1945, with the Soviet troops forcing the Germans to retreat, the enemies begin to evacuate Warsaw. In a last attempt to find Jan, Antonina asks Heck for help, but he refuses, revealing that he once heard Ryszard say "Hitler ist kaputt" and accusing Antonina of resistance activity. Heck attacks Antonina in a rage of sexual aggression. It is then that he realizes she does not want him, that she is repulsed by him. She has been lying to him all along. Antonina returns to the zoo, warning her guests just in time for their escape. Magda takes baby Teresa with her as Antonina hides Ryszard in the basement, knowing Heck will come back. Heck arrives in a fury with his men, barging into the villa's basement and discovering, at last, secret drawings on the walls: yellow stars and dates, and images of hidden Jewish guests drawn with animal faces. In raging retaliation, Heck chases Ryszard through the basement's lion tunnel and outside again, seizing him at gunpoint.

Antonina begs Heck not to kill Ryszard but he drags the boy away. A tense beat; a shot rings out off-screen. Antonina collapses in sobs. And then Ryszard suddenly returns, victim of a cruel hoax. Lutz Heck leaves the zoo for good, and Antonina and Ryszard join the long march out of Warsaw, taking with them the rabbit and one of Heck's test subjects, a young bison. As they leave their home and the city is liberated, they release the bison into the woods.

Four months after the Nazi surrender, Warsaw begins to be rebuilt. Antonina, Ryszard and baby Teresa return. The zoo is terribly damaged but still standing. Jerzyk, their loyal zookeeper, is there to greet them. Spring comes as they begin to rebuild, and with them, Urszula, Magda, and Maurycy. As birds return and life resumes, Antonina looks up to see Jan walking home, a survivor of a prison camp. Antonina runs into his arms.

In the film's final moment, the ?abi?skis paint Stars of David on all the cages in the zoo.

The Postscript tells us that 300 people were saved by the Zabinskis in their zoo. Lutz Heck returned to Berlin, where his zoo was destroyed by Allied bombings. His efforts to recreate extinct aurochs failed. The ?abi?skis were eventually recognized by Yad V'shem for their righteous acts and defiance against the Germans. The Zabinskis rebuilt their zoo and the Warsaw Zoo remains open to this day.

Maps The Zookeeper's Wife (film)

Cast

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Historical context

The Zookeeper's Wife is based on Diane Ackerman's non-fiction book of the same name, which relied heavily on the diaries of Antonina ?abi?ska, published in Poland as Ludzie i zwierz?ta (translated as: People and Animals) (1968). In key aspects of historical context, the screenplay follows the story of Antonina and her husband, Jan, closely. Both worked at the Warsaw Zoo. Antonina helped her husband who was the director of the zoo. Animals were part of their family's life, and the devastation that resulted from not only the attack on Warsaw and the subsequent pillaging of the zoo is well documented. The actions of Lutz Heck and his animal breeding experiments were also a matter of historical record, although the intimate relationship of the protagonist, Antonina and the antagonist, Heck, is exaggerated. However, the defiance of Nazi occupation and ultimately, the rescue of over 300 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto were depicted accurately. The contributions and participation of the ?abinski children, Ryszard and Teresa (credited as Theresa in the film) were also notable.

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Production

In September 2010, it was announced that Angela Workman was adapting Diane Ackerman's non-fiction book, The Zookeeper's Wife. On April 30, 2013, Jessica Chastain was attached to play the titular role as Antonina ?abi?ska, while Niki Caro signed on to direct the film. On August 24, 2015, Focus Features acquired the US rights to the film, and Daniel Brühl and Johan Heldenbergh signed on to star in it.

Filming

Filming began on the animals to be used in The Zookeeper's Wife on September 9, 2015, but the principal photography with actors began on September 29, 2015, in Prague, Czech Republic.

Suzie Davies served as the production designer on The Zookeeper's Wife, Andrij Parekh as the director of photography, and Bina Daigeler as the costume designer. Filming ended on November 29, 2015.

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Release

The Zookeeper's Wife had its world premiere on March 8, 2017 in Warsaw, Poland, and its US premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 12, 2017. The film was released in the United States on March 31, 2017 and was released in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2017. It premiered in Spain at the Barcelona-Sant Jordi International Film Festival on April 22, 2017. It also premiered in France at the 43rd Deauville Film Festival on September 7, 2017.

A special screening was held at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington DC on March 22, 2017, with a panel discussion including speakers Diane Ackerman, Jessica Chastain, Niki Caro and Angela Workman. Prior to the film's release, Focus Features partnered with the International Rescue Committee to screen the film in cities across the country, including a special screening at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California, and a special screening in New York City, with a panel of speakers which included Chastain, Caro and Workman. The New York screening occurred on behalf of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, and was hosted by activist Steven Goldstein. The film speakers were joined by Sarah O'Hagan of the International Rescue Committee. The evening's topic of discussion was the rescue of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, and the current refugee crisis in Europe.

The film will begin running on HBO as of December 23, 2017.

Box office

The film grossed $17.4 million in the United States and Canada and $5.7 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $23.2 million.

In North America, the film grossed $3.3 million in its opening weekend from 541 theaters (a per-theater average of $6,191), finishing 10th at the box office. It remained the top grossing indie film in its second, third and fourth weeks of release.

The film remained the top grossing specialty film of 2017 in its fifth week of release, with IndieWire praising the film's release strategy, saying: "Focus' aggressive push for this Jessica Chastain Holocaust rescue story has paid off with the top result for any specialized audience release since awards season. It won't hit the level of Woman in Gold two years ago ($33 million), but that's more of a factor of the steep decline in overall upscale grosses and more competition at the moment than other differences between the two films." In its eighth and ninth weeks of release, The Zookeeper's Wife was the third highest grossing specialty release of 2017, despite a reduction in its theater count. In its tenth week of release, IndieWire said the film "has been a rare specialized standout this spring."

The film remained the #1 best selling war film for the first three months of its DVD/streaming release.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 61% based on 157 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Zookeeper's Wife has noble intentions, but is ultimately unable to bring its fact-based story to life with quite as much impact as it deserves." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

IndieWire listed The Zookeeper's Wife on its shortlist of best indie films of the year, stating: "Niki Caro's fact-based historical drama is a heartbreaker of the highest order, anchored by an understated performance by Jessica Chastain and a series of wrenching dramatic twists that will wring tears out of even the hardest of hearts." Mick LaSalle, writing for The San Francisco Chronicle, gave the film a 5-star review, saying that it "grabs us from its first seconds" and that:

The Zookeeper's Wife achieves its grandeur not through the depiction of grand movements, but through its attentiveness to the shifts and flickers of the soul. The war was a great external event, but Caro reminds us that it was experienced internally, by the people and the animals who had to try to live through it.

Kenneth Turan, in The Los Angeles Times, says "Niki Caro and Jessica Chastain create an emotionally satisfying Zookeeper's Wife". The AP, the national wire service, says the film "tells a riveting true story" that is "both inspiring and comes as a welcome reminder in this time of uncertainty that even in the face of astonishing evil, humanity and goodness can also rise to the occasion." Jacob Soll in The New Republic heralded the film as the "first feminist Holocaust film".

In a negative review, Variety's Peter Debruge said, "There's no nice way to put it in this case, but The Zookeeper's Wife has the unfortunate failing of rendering its human drama less interesting than what happens to the animals -- and for a subject as damaging to our species as the Holocaust, that no small shortcoming." In contrast, Variety's Kristopher Tapley wrote that the film deserved consideration as an Oscar contender.

Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film "was like "Schindler's List with pets," writing that it was "so timid and sanitized it almost feels safe for children."

Polish reviewers expressed a strong positive response to the film, as it spoke to their history. The Krakow Post stated: "On a universal level (the film) is a prayer for sanity and the civilized values of charity, empathy, and humanity in any time which finds itself threatened to be ruled by mass insanity, hatred, and barbarism. Lessons derived from this darkest period of recent history can never be untimely."

Alexandra Macaaron, in Women's Voices For Change, gave the film a rave review, noting that The Zookeeper's Wife is a rarity among Holocaust films, and is distinguished by its female perspective on war and the struggle to protect every living soul, strangers and friends alike.

Accolades

At the 2016 Heartland Film Festival, held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana, The Zookeeper's Wife was awarded the "Truly Moving Picture Award"; emblematic of the festival's goal to "inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of film."

The Zookeeper's Wife was awarded the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2017 Seattle Jewish Film Festival.

In April 2017, Political Film Society USA nominated The Zookeeper's Wife for its PFS award, in the category "Human Rights".

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See also

• List of Holocaust films

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References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

• Official website
• The Zookeeper's Wife on IMDb
• The Zookeeper's Wife at the TCM Movie Database
• The Zookeeper's Wife: Fact vs. Fiction

Source of the article : Wikipedia