THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE

Czech Republic/ UK/ US, 2017, 127 minutes, Colour.
Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Bruhl.
Directed by Niki Caro.

A film about Warsaw, 1939 to 1946, a film about the Jews in the ghetto, a film about gentiles and their hiding the Jews in their homes and helping them to escape. In many ways, the story of Anne Frank and her diary became the archetypal story of the concealment of the Jews. Schindler’s List was also an archetypal story on gentiles saving the Jews. At the end of that film, Oskar Schindler is honoured in Jerusalem as being a righteous citizen. At the end of The Zookeeper’s Wife, we learn that Antonina and Jan Zabinski were also honoured honoured in this way.

It is significant for the style and impact of the film that it is based on the work of women, Diane Ackerman as the author of the bestselling story, Angela Workman as the writer of the screenplay and Niki Caro as the director. There are many touching scenes in the film, and frequent tenderness in the treatment of the characters and their hardships.

Jessica Chastain has emerged as a significant actress in recent years and contributes another fine performance. She is Antonina, who works in the Warsaw zoo with her husband, Jan (Jan Heldenbergh). They have a young son. The range of animals in the zoo is displayed during the opening credits and there are many sequences with the animals, the difficult birth of a baby elephant, a pet cub in the house, a young camel running through the zoo with Antonina as she rides her bike.

This, course, makes the German invasion of Poland and the bombing of the zoo all the more harrowing, the frightening noises for the animals, the destruction of their precincts, their running wild, their deaths.

While the summer of 1939 was quite sunny in Warsaw, everything changed on September 1 with Hitler’s invasion of Poland.

The citizens were bewildered, the Zabinski family having to deal with how they could cope with the destruction of the zoo – and coming up with an ingenious solution to present to the Germans, especially to the world-renowned zoologist, Heck (Daniel Bruhl) who has been friendly with the family but is now Hitler’s zoologist. The suggestion is that the plant of the zoo be used as a pig farm to provide food for the German soldiers – using the garbage from the ghetto to feed the pigs and a cover, in the truck under the garbage, for the rescuing of many Jews and negotiating their escape while others continued to live in the zoo residence for years.

While these stories have been seen frequently over the many decades, it is important to keep the memories alive, to appreciate the plight of the Jews, in the hardships of the ghetto with people hungry and dying in the streets, the brutality of the German soldiers (even to the rape of a young girl), the strict silences to be observed by those hiding in the house so they would not be discovered during the day, getting some moments in the early hours of the morning for getting out into the air.

While Antonina covers everything at home, Jan drives the truck and is instrumental in the escapes, especially when the man in charge of the ghetto approaches him to countenance further escapes. There is a touching character, an old man, the teacher, who is offered the possibilities for getting out of the ghetto but who always refuses, staying with the children, even accompanying them on the trains to Auschwitz.

And, there are complications with Heck and his attraction towards Antonina, his experimenting with bison in the zoo, his loyalty to Hitler, his confrontation with the Zabinski son, his reaction to Jan being in the Warsaw uprising, Antonina and her appeal to him to find her husband.

It seems a bit churlish to say that the ending is rather emotional – emotions being important in real life but, somehow other, sometimes seeming a bit too much in the dramatic telling of the story. Nevertheless, this film is quite a vivid recreation of the era and what the citizens of Warsaw, Jewish and Gentile, experienced.

1. A World War II story? A Polish story? The Warsaw story, the Jews, the ghetto? Polish citizens concealing the Jews?

2. The Warsaw sitting, 1939-1946? The range of the animals during the credits? The size of the zoo? The various sites and settings for the animals? Warsaw city? The close-up of the ghetto, the enclosure, the interiors? The zoo during the war, the pig farm, the bison? The interiors of the house and the hiding places? The ghetto, the fire? The Warsaw uprising? The aftermath of war? Indicating times with the dates? The musical score?

3. The title, the focus for seven years, Jessica Chastain as Antonina?

4. The situation in the zoo, Nina and relate her relationship with her husband, riding round the zoo, with the animals, feeding them, with her husband, Jan, with her son? The family relationship? Working, feeding, the birth of the elephant and people watching, the dinner and her serving, the applause? The meeting with , Heck, zoologist, his expertise, German before the war? The Poles?

5. Pre-war Warsaw, the calm, the summer? Jan and his warning? The outbreak of war, war action, the bombing of Warsaw, the bombing of the zoo, the chaos with the animals?

6. The Nazis, occupying the city, occupying the zoo, the destruction of the zoo, the family living in the house? Antonina’s idea, the pig farm, providing food for the soldiers, the garbage from the ghetto as pigs food? The ironies as regards pork and the Jews? Heck and his giving permission? Heck and his interest in the zoo, his experiment with the bison, pregnancy, birth, Antonina and her help – and the ultimate failure of the experiment?

7. The establishment the ghetto, the rounding up the Jews, sealed in, the enclosure, the harshness of life and the crowding?

8. Jan, his truck, the permit, getting the rubbish, the escapades hiding under it? Getting out, the tunnel, the vehicles and their escape?

9. The young girl, the German soldiers, the rape, the effect on her, out of the ghetto, in the house, the rabbit, Antonina helping her recover? Her staying in the house?

10. The two women, getting out of the ghetto, the escape, being informed on – their execution in the street?

11. The commander of the ghetto and his approach to Jan and permitting the escapes? Jan using his authority against the strict guard?

12. The friends of the Zabinski’s, the man with the insect collection and Jan looking after it, Antonina later looking at after the war? The young woman, friendship, her staying? The redoing of the basement, the range of individuals present, going out after midnight, Antonina’s warning with the piano? The role of the maid, cooking – and her keeping silent about the Jews?

13. Heck, his presence, flirting with Antonina? Jan and his absence, his reaction to Heck?

14. The son, getting older, following Jan to the ghetto, his being caught, his lies, mocking Hitler, Heck and his threats, the gunshot, not killing the boy?

15. The scenes of the uprising, Jan and his involvement? Secrecy, warfare?

16. The professor, Jan helping, wanting to take him out, his going to the trains, with the children, lifting them onto the train?

17. Jan’s absence, Antonina going to the Nazi offices, with Heck? Helping everyone to escape? Heck, going to the cellar, seeing all the names and the drawings? The impact of being deceived?

18. 1946, the return, the zoo, family reunited, the caretaker keeping the zoo going?

19. The final information about the couple being declared Righteous?