Beautiful Yet Devastating

Mentally I was unprepared to see Niki Caro's latest film, The Zookeeper's Wife. It was naive of me to assume that this movie depiction of the true life tale of the Warsaw Zoo, during the bombings and occupation of Poland during WWII, would leave the zoo animals unscathed. That being said, while upsettingly accurate, this film seriously was phenomenal. The way the movie was filmed and the sets and wardrobes of the characters just furthered my ability to put myself in the shoes of the characters.

Watching the effects that the Nazi regime had upon not only the main character's family and their relationships, but the lives of so many of the jewish characters portrayed in the film was surreal. The way Jessica Chastain's character had to play a mental game with Daniel Bruhl's character to gain his trust was just amazing. The cast in general was incredibly picked. I already obviously hated Nazis, but Bruhl was a MONSTER and acted the role of a monster amazingly. Another more minor character, Urszula, played by Shira Haas, was simply heartbreaking. You felt her pain and like me, wanted to just hug her forever and say you were so sorry over and over again. John Heldenbergh, who played opposite of Chastain gave an incredible performance. You constantly battled emotional monsters with him and just ached to help him rescue as many Jews as possible.

Overall, I vigorously recommend seeing this movie! As someone who LOVES historical pieces, this one rocked my world with the tale of a portion of history I had not previously heard. This is not a film for the faint of heart. A dear friend of mine is a strong animal lover and knowing her emotional tie to animals, have told her to not see this, as it will break her heart. I myself cried multiple times; for the animals, for the main character's turmoils and for the lives of the jewish people persecuted and lost. If this film and Chastain do not at receive at least one nomination I will be shocked! I give it 5 out of 5, a MUST see (unless a sad movie isn't for you haha)!