The Zookeeper's Wife

"You can never tell who your enemies are, or who to trust. Maybe that's why I love animals so much. You look in their eyes, and you know exactly what's in their hearts. They're not like people."

Ever since I found out about this movie, I have wanted to see it and now I can finally saw that I have. I mean it's not all that old, it came out last year, but still. I love movies that are based on true stories and this was one of those. The story of Antonina and Jan Zabinski who ran a zoo in Warsaw, Poland and used the basement and areas of their zoo to hide Jews during the war. It was so inspiring, but also sad because of the content.

Jessica Chastain gave an amazing performance and she even got the Polish accent down, which I imagine was difficult. One of the things I really loved about her character was how she didn't want to leave. She didn't want her son to be moved around anytime things got dangerous. Yes they were taking a risk by staying, but they were able to help all these people because of it and I loved her determination in staying and keep people save despite the circumstances.

The Holocaust wiped about most of the population of Warsaw, Poland. Only 6 percent remained, but the Zabinski's rebuilt their zoo. All the people they saved survived. I love that there were people during the war who did what they could to save the Jews. The story of determination and heroism in a time in history that was anything but beautiful, they demonstrated beauty through their passion for animals and people and using their resources to help the ones who were suffering. It was as good as I expected it to be, if not better. It gets a 5 star rating from me. Now, I just need to read the book...

JAG: Each of Us Angels

I have decided to start doing TV posts along with my movie reviews because I am very knowledgeable with TV. For the most part I watch a lot more TV shows than I do movies, and wanted to write about episodes that speak to me, or that need to be written about because they're so good.

Since JAG is a military show, there are episodes that pay tribute to past wars. This particular episode, "Each of Us Angels", does just that by honoring the Navy Nurses during World War II. The episode is told through flashbacks to the time of The Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Taking place on a ship offshore, the story is shared by an elderly man to a young girl.




The Navy Nurses would fall for the soldiers that were brought in, and the man whose name is Ron Graham (David James Elliott plays young Lt. Graham) goes to the Arlington National Cemetery to put flowers on the grave of the Nurse who he fell in love with. He sees this young girl there and shows her a picture of the nurses, and that’s when he tells her the story. Ens. Beverly Tromatore (the woman that Ron falls for) takes a particular interest in Ron. She talks to him and tells him to wake up…

When he does, he remembers her. One of the men that was part of his group was severely burned, and ends up dying. Ron feels like he will lose whoever he cares about or tries to protect, which is why he’s hesitant (at first) to be with Beverly. She basically tells him that she is her own person, and doesn't need him to carry her because, as she tells him: "I don't need you to carry me. I can walk with you." Leading into a Luciano De Crescenzo quote that the title of the episode comes from. “We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” After Beverly says that quote to Ron, he takes a chance and they kiss.

Then, all of a sudden, a plane crashes right into the deck. They scramble to get people to safety, and while Beverly is turning off the oxygen tanks, a shelf falls on her and she doesn't make it. I think they really captured the essence of war and loss during the time. He is happy that he knew her for the short period that he did, and still comes and pays his respects every year because she meant so much to him. Then his grandaughter comes to the cemetery. She tells the girl who heard the story that she is going to be a military nurse as well.

I am glad that they were able to pay tribute the way that they did for those nurses who were dedicated to saving lives, and being there for the soldiers as well.