The most affecting moment in Niki Caro's The Zookeeper's Wife occurs early on, as the Nazis invade Poland in September 1939. The audience sees this moment as it affects Antonina Żabińska (Jessica Chastain), her family, and their zoo. Bombs fall, some animals are killed, others are set free, and the place is severely damaged. The impacts of the bombs are felt, not just through the bass, but as animals lie there, forever gone.
To this point in Zookeeper's Wife, the film has given almost equal weight to the animals as it has Antonina; her husband, Jan (Johan Heldenbergh); and their son, Ryszard (played first by Timothy Radford and later in the film by Val Maloku). The destruction wrought upon the zoo is something palpably felt in the audience, but it is a weight and an upset that the film never succeeds in reaching again.
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To this point in Zookeeper's Wife, the film has given almost equal weight to the animals as it has Antonina; her husband, Jan (Johan Heldenbergh); and their son, Ryszard (played first by Timothy Radford and later in the film by Val Maloku). The destruction wrought upon the zoo is something palpably felt in the audience, but it is a weight and an upset that the film never succeeds in reaching again.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...