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Les Insurgés Fiche pédagogique Les Insurgés Sortie prévue en salles 14 janvier 2009 Titre original : Defiance Résumé surtout sauver les rescapés. Le cadet prône la lutte armée et re- Film long métrage, Etats-Unis, Europe de l’Est, aux confins de joint même les troupes soviéti- 2009 l’Union Soviétique, 1941. Les ques, après avoir appris que sa troupes allemandes viennent de femme a été tuée par les nazis. Réalisation : Edward Zwick se lancer à l’attaque de l’URSS et Asael (Jamie Bell), encore ado- Interprètes : Daniel Craig (Tu- multiplient les massacres de juifs lescent au début des événements, via Bielski), Liev Schreiber sur leur passage. Les camps se transforme peu à peu en (Zus Bielski), Jamie Bell (Asael d’extermination ne sont pas en- homme, est déchiré entre ses Bielski), George MacKay (Aron core ouverts et la plupart des vic- deux frères, mais reste fidèle à Bielski), Alexa Davalos (Lilka) times sont fusillées et abandon- Tuvia et trouve même une nées dans des fosses. épouse. Scénario : Clayton Frohman, Edward Zwick, inspiré d’un Les frères Bielski vivent en Polo- Les difficultés s’accroissent en- livre de Nechama Tec, The Bielski Partisans gne orientale (aujourd’hui en Bié- core avec l’arrivée d’un hiver terri- lorussie) et voient leur famille ble, le manque de nourriture et Musique : James Newton Ho- massacrée par les Allemands. l’apparition du typhus. L’étau nazi ward Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig), l’aîné se resserre… et ses trois frères parviennent à Directeur de la photographie : s’enfuir dans les immenses forêts Eduardo Serra voisines qu’ils connaissent parfai- tement et emmènent avec eux Production : Bedford Falls, une douzaine d’habitants de leur Grosvenor Park village. Très vite, Tuvia s’en prend Version originale anglais, aux assassins polonais de ses russe, sous-titrée français et parents. Les Bielski sont bientôt allemand rejoints par d’autres survivants ou échappés des ghettos. Une véri- Durée : 2h17 table communauté se crée qui accueille plusieurs centaines de Distribution : Ascot Elite juifs terrorisés, femmes, enfants et vieillards compris. Tuvia et son Public concerné : Age légal : 14 ans. Age suggé- frère Zus (Liev Schreiber) ré : 14 ans. s’opposent sur l’orientation à don- ner à leur action. Plus humaniste, l’aîné, persuadé que sa meilleure vengeance est de survivre, veut Disciplines et thèmes ___________________________________________________ concernés : Histoire et controverse réfugié joue un rôle actif : il peut réparer les armes, fabriquer des Histoire : l’antisémitisme en Edouard Zwick l’annonce sans chaussures, faire la cuisine, en- Europe de l’Est. Le rôle des Ein- satzgruppen. L’invasion de la ambiguïté au début de son film : seigner… Pologne et de L’URSS par la Les Insurgés est une « true sto- Wehrmacht. Le plan Barbarossa. ry », alors qu’il aurait pu se Les partisans ont mené plusieurs Les partisans juifs. L’Otriad contenter d’un « basé sur une opérations contre les troupes al- Bielski. La Shoah. Le massacre histoire vraie ». lemandes ou des Polonais qui de Naliboki. avaient collaboré avec l’occupant en trahissant des juifs. La tête de Géographie : l’évolution des Tuvia Bielski1 (photo à gauche) frontières en Europe de l’Est fut mise à prix pour la somme de (Pologne, Biélorussie, Union Soviétique…). 100'000 reichmarks. Education aux citoyennetés : L’Otriad Bielski était lié aux parti- Régimes autoritaires et politique sans soviétiques dirigés par le antisémite. général Vasily Yefimovich Cher- nyshev (« Platon »), qui lui restera Histoire et science des reli- fidèle, malgré l’antisémitisme gé- gions : judaïsme. néralisé au sein de ses troupes. Education aux médias : Porter à l’écran une histoire vraie. En juin 1944, l’Armée Rouge lance une grande contre-offensive en Biélorussie, pulvérise la Wehrmacht et met un terme au calvaire de la communauté en Depuis la publication de plusieurs fuite. livres relativement récents (cf. bibliographie), l’histoire des frères Bielski est bien connue, même si elle garde encore des zones d’ombre importantes. Leur groupe de partisans a été l’un des plus importants de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et a combattu les nazis à proximité de la ville de Nowo- grodek, polonaise jusqu’en 1939 et maintenant biélorusse. Le chef du groupe était Tuvia, ancien sol- dat de l’armée polonaise et mili- tant sioniste. Préférant « sauver une vieille femme juive que de tuer dix soldats allemands » (Duf- fy, Peter, Les Frères Bielski, cf biblio), il parvient à sauver de Asael Bielski s’engage dans nombreux juifs des ghettos qui l’armée soviétique et est tué en rejoignent leur communauté, qui Allemagne en février 1945. Tuvia comptera jusqu’à 1200 person- et Zus émigrent avec leur famille nes. Celle-ci mènera longtemps en Palestine, participent à la créa- une existence nomade avant de tion de l’Etat d’Israël, puis émi- s’installer plus durablement au grent aux Etats-Unis. sein de la forêt de Naliboki. C’est ici, dès décembre 1943, que Le courage des Bielski est salué d’importantes infrastructures sont par les historiens : ils sont parve- construites : cuisine, moulin, ate- liers divers, infirmerie, salle de 1 Les photos des deux frères sont classe ou cellule… Chaque juif tirées du site officiel du film. 2 nus à transformer des juifs terrori- années nonante, il achète les sés, victimes sans espoirs, en droits de l’ouvrage et écrit une combattants capables de résister première version du scénario. Ce au milieu de l’apocalypse. Cepen- n’est cependant que tout récem- dant, en Pologne, des voix se sont ment qu’il parvient à réunir les 50 fait entendre en posant des ques- millions de dollars nécessaires au tions dérangeantes sur l’attitude tournage, qui aura lieu en Litua- des partisans dans la région de nie, dans une région hantée par le Nowogrodek. Ils sont accusés de souvenir des exactions nazies et crimes de guerres sur la popula- du génocide juif. tion locale et d’être impliqués dans le massacre de Naliboki, où Les Insurgés est un film caracté- 120 Polonais auraient été tués en ristique de la filmographie de mai 1943. Une enquête est en Zwick : thématique passionnante, cours, menée par l’IPN (Institut force dramatique, impact visuel, national du souvenir, fondé en mais aussi traitement mélodrama- 1998). D’autres historiens attri- tique et sans surprises. buent le massacre aux partisans soviétiques uniquement et le jour- Reprenons dans le détail. Les nal polonais Gazeta Wyborcza (le Insurgés a le mérite d’aborder une principal quotidien polonais page peu connue de l’Histoire. Il d’opinion, fondé par Adam Mich- permet de comprendre que la nik) a conclu son enquête en af- population juive n’a pas entière- firmant que l’unité Bielski était ment cédé à une victimisation stationnée à plus de 100 kilomè- passive mais qu’une partie d’entre tres du lieu du drame. elle a bien tenté de résister à la barbarie nazie. Le rôle des parti- Commentaires sans est également un thème historique intéressant. Edward Zwick est un réalisateur américain rarement ménagé par Zwich est globalement fidèle à la les critiques, mais qui a le mérite réalité historique et n’évacue pas de s’attaquer à des sujets diffici- les pages les plus sombres, les : l’intégration d’un régiment comme lorsqu’il montre la décou- noir dans l’armée nordiste lors de verte des fosses macabres par le la Guerre de Sécession (Glory) ou plus jeune des frères Bielski. Le le trafic des diamants de guerre réalisateur ne cache pas non plus (Blood Diamond), par exemple. l’antisémitisme de certains Polo- Après avoir découvert le livre de nais ou celui d’une partie des Necham Tec Defiance à la fin des soldats soviétiques. Il n’hésite pas 3 à présenter une scène terrible où personnage d’Oskar Schindler (La la communauté juive des frères Liste de Schindler de Steven Bielski lynche un soldat allemand Spielberg) était ainsi beaucoup fait prisonnier. Le manichéisme plus riche. est ainsi évité. Visuellement, le film décrit à mer- veille l’ambiance hivernale et sombre de la forêt biélorusse grâce au travail remarquable du chef de la photographie, Eduardo Serra (Blood Diamond, La Jeune Fille à la perle), très à l’aise pour rendre ces tonalités vertes, grises et bleues. Les acteurs sont convaincants, avec une mention particulière pour Liev Schreiber dans son rôle de frère cadet rebelle et belli- queux. Jamie Bell, que l’on avait pu voir dans Billy Elliot, parvient à évoquer avec finesse un passage à l’âge adulte accéléré par le contexte tragique …. Enfin Daniel Les dialogues n’évitent pas non Craig s’en sort plutôt bien dans plus les clichés, parfois grandilo- son rôle d’homme de principes, quents : « Nothing is impossible… entraîné souvent malgré lui vers la what we’ve done is impossible ». violence. Nul doute qu’il amènera Certaines scènes semblent trop de nombreux fans de 007 à voir « hollywoodiennes » : Tuvia dirige un film aux ambitions plus gran- ses troupes juché sur un cheval… des. blanc, qu’il finira par sacrifier pour nourrir la communauté. Ou lors- Malheureusement, Zwick est plus qu’au moment de l’attaque du un artisan qu’un artiste et le film camp par l’aviation allemande, souffre de plusieurs défauts. Le Tuvia doit prendre la tête, comme premier est le plus surprenant : Moïse, de son peuple pour les acteurs principaux s’expriment l’amener à travers les marais vers en anglais avec un accent slave la sécurité. Le combat final et ses très marqué… alors que les sol- traditionnelles images d’héroïsme dats soviétiques parlent en russe. et d’intervention de dernière mi- nute ressort bien de l’image for- Au niveau historique, Zwick et son matée pour amateur de film scénariste ont un peu trop insisté d’action.
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