The Zookeeper’s Wife Blu-ray Review
The time is 1939. The place is Warsaw, Poland. Specifically the small zoo that draws visitors every day. It is a zoo run with a soft hand. The animals, be they lions or tigers, elephants or camels, are treated with care by their owners, the Zabinskis, Jan (Johan Heldenbergh) and his wife, Antonia (Chastain). One day they are visited by German zoologist Lutz Heck (Bruhl) who admires the way the animals are being kept. He also admires the way Antonia remains calm after a baby elephant is born unable to breathe. Risking her life by getting between the calf and its mother, she works on the small pachyderm until it begins to breathe on its own and rejoin its mother. Things seem to be going well for all concerned until the day the Nazi army comes to town.
A touching but familiar story, THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE is beautifully photographed and visually impressive. From the lushness of the zoo’s habitats to the darkness of the Jewish ghetto, the images are vivid. Where the film turns familiar to me is where many of the films set in this time period feel familiar. Having Jewish friends living in the Ghetto the Zabinskis devise a way to hide them, which they do. However, if you’ve ever seen a film like this you know that a majority of the tension will occur when, while hiding, someone makes a noise that may or may not alert the Nazi that just happens to be visiting. In this case it is Dr. Heck, who has managed to convince his superiors to move the valuable animals to a zoo in Germany, where they will be returned after the war. He does this right before the city is bombed, with many of the animals killed or set free to run around town. This causes a sad montage of cute animals being shot, including a majestic eagle who flops over like a target at the state fair. “Have it stuffed and mounted,” says the officer that kills it.
Despite the familiarity of the story, the cast here stands out nicely. This is one of Ms. Chastain’s better performances. She is demure when necessary but is not afraid to stand up to the image of what a woman is capable of. Bruhl, best known as the young movie-loving soldier in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, is also quiet when needed but firm as well. He allows the Zabinskis to raise pigs at the zoo, this way providing meat for the local soldiers. He also insists on trying to breed oxen and bison to create some kind of mythological super-beast. He also takes a liking to Antonia, who seems to want to return the feelings though she has other motives for doing so besides romance. The supporting cast is strong and helps move the story along. Director Caro, who did THE WHALE WATCHER among other films, does her best to keep the pace up though the film could have been trimmed by 15 minutes with no loss of story.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: The film is presented in a 2:40.1 aspect ratio and is quite beautifully shot. The stark differences between the teeming zoo and the dark ghetto are readily evident. .
Audio: The soundtrack is presented in DTS Master Audio 5.1 and is well mixed. For some of the quieter scenes, especially when people are hiding, you may want turn up the volume a few notches to make sure you hear everything.
Deleted scenes (3:56 trt): Six very short scenes, none of which add to the story.
The Making of “The Zookeeper’s Wife (7:06): Standard featurette which centers on director Niki Caro’s vision of the film.
The Zabrinski Family (3:57): The story is based on real people and several people, including some of the Zabrinski children, talk about their relatives.