
As war brews over in 1939 Warsaw, and while life is still running its course, the Germans are gradually making their presence felt, with Adolf Hitler secretly preparing for the invasion of Poland. Under those volatile circumstances, the couple of Jan Zabinski and Antonina Zabinska continue with their daily routine as owners of the Warsaw Zoo; however, their life's work, and the city, will turn to ashes when the Luftwaffe's horrific Stukas begin to hammer the capital. Now, wit... (Full plot summary below)
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As war brews over in 1939 Warsaw, and while life is still running its course, the Germans are gradually making their presence felt, with Adolf Hitler secretly preparing for the invasion of Poland. Under those volatile circumstances, the couple of Jan Zabinski and Antonina Zabinska continue with their daily routine as owners of the Warsaw Zoo; however, their life's work, and the city, will turn to ashes when the Luftwaffe's horrific Stukas begin to hammer the capital. Now, with the zoo liquidated for the war effort, and many of its animals tragically perished, what was once a menagerie, will now serve as a sanctuary, where the pair of veterinarians can hide the persecuted Polish-Jewish people in plain sight. Indeed, that was the dangerous plan of the two altruists, who, regardless of the consequences, refused to wither before the Nazi menace, and sheltered three hundred Jewish men, women, and children right under the noses of the enemy. Will the world remember the zookeeper's wife?
Leave your thoughts about The Zookeeper's Wife.
| San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleThe 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. |
| National Newspaper Publishers Association Dwight BrownNiki Caro orchestrates the proceedings with a very sensitive eye that never wavers. |
| The New RepublicJacob SollNiki Caro breaks out of the genre and emerges with a truly moving and original film. She uses the familiar structure of survival and rescue, but her focus is on the mechanics of cruelty itself in an unlikely setting. |
| John Hanlon ReviewsJohn HanlonJessica Chastain brings this true story to life with a subtle and poignant performance. |
| HaaretzUri KleinSince the director gives us such superficial characters and portrays their dangerous work in such a placid manner, her movie generates no suspense, even at its most fateful moments. |
| One Guy's OpinionFrank SwietekIt's an inspiring tale [but] frankly, the Zabinskis, and those they helped, deserve a better cinematic memorial than this. |
| EricDSnider.comEric D. SniderOne silver lining to the current political situation is that at least in a few years we'll have some new stories to tell about fighting Nazis. |
| BeliefnetNell MinowIt would be easy to mistake the gentle tone as not sufficiently harrowing, but Caro presents Antonina's story with as much grace and humanity as Antonina showed her guests. |
| MovieFreak.comSara Michelle FettersThe Zookeeper's Wife is excellent, the Zabinskis' story an important lesson in heroism that proves to be as entertainingly compelling as it is fascinatingly essential. |
| Ozus' World Movie ReviewsDennis SchwartzThis marvelous true story deserved a better film. |