The Zookeepers Wife 2017

     This film is based on a true story and a non-fiction book by Diane Ackerman published in 2007.  There is talk of war in Warsaw of 1939.  The Germans have been in the city for three years and everyone wonders if things will just stay the same?  What they don't know is that Hitler is secretly preparing for his invasion of Poland.  Zoologist Jan and his wife Antonina Zabinski are the owners and keepers of the Warsaw Zoo.  German Luftwaffe’s Stukas begin to bomb Warsaw.  Many of the animals were killed during the bombings and others were shot.  Lions, tigers and other dangerous animals could not be running wild on the Warsaw streets.  Some animals remained at the zoo and others came back on their own.  Jan and Antonina begin to hide Polish Jews until safe houses are located for them.  About 300 Jews were saved from the Warsaw ghetto and transport to camps.

     A lot of the underground activity is shown in this film.  There is a room in the back of a bakery where documents are forged.  The black hair of some of the women is died platinum blond.  Bribes allow Jan to enter and exit the Ghetto as an official.  Jan picks up the food leftovers from the Ghetto and he hides children under the scraps.  The things they are doing are very risky and their lives are on the line every day.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

127 min, Bio directed by Niki Caro with Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Daniel Bruhl, Timothy Radford, Efrat Dor, Iddo Goldberg, Shira Haas, Michael McElhatton, Val Maloku, Martha Issova, Daniel Ratimorsky, Frederick and Theo Preston. 

Note:  Imdb 7.0 out of 10, 61% critic 77% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 457 reviews, Metacritic 57 out of 100 with 36 critics 7.3 out of 10 with 36 reviews, Pluggedin 2 ½* out of 5*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* review by Simran Hans.

Special Note:  Filmed in the Boscolo Prague Hotel, Senovanzne namesti and Prague, Czech Republic.  All the animals used in the film are real.  The current Warsaw Zoo opened on 11 March 1928 but its roots can be traced to private menageries from the seventeenth century.  The unpublished diary of Jan and Antonina Zabinski inspired author Diane Ackerman.  The first film cut was nearly 3 ½ hours long and the final film was reduced to 2 hours.