The Zookeeper's Wife (film)
| The Zookeepers Wife | |
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| Directed by | Niki Caro |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Angela Workman |
| Based on |
The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Cinematography | Andrij Parekh |
| Edited by | David Coulson |
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| Distributed by | Focus Features |
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Release date
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Running time
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126 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $12.8 million |
The Zookeeper's Wife is a 2017 war drama film directed by Niki Caro and written by Angela Workman, based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Diane Ackerman, recounting the rescue of Jews from the Nazi invasion. The film stars Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Michael McElhatton and Daniel Brühl.
The Zookeeper's Wife had its world premiere on March 8, 2017, in Warsaw, Poland, the location of the story, followed by screening at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 12, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 31, 2017 by Focus Features. The Zookeeper's Wife premiered in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2017. The film premiered in Competition at the Barcelona Sant Jordi Film Festival on April 22, 2017 The film premieres worldwide April through June 2017.
Dr. Jan Żabiński (Johan Heldenbergh) and his wife, Antonina (Jessica Chastain) are the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo (Miejski Ogród Zoologiczny), one of the largest and most prolific zoos in 1930s Europe. In the calm of September 1939, Antonina opens the zoo gates. Hours before the zoo opens for the day, a crowd has already gathered to view the many species on display in the zoo. Jan is the director of the Warsaw Zoo and faces the scornful, yet envious advances of Dr. Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl), the head of the Berlin Zoo and "Hitler’s zoologist".
On September 1, 1939, Antonina and her son Ryszard (Timothy Radford and later, Val Maloku) are shocked witnesses to the aerial bombardment of Warsaw as German forces storm Poland. The Zoo is not spared; bombs raze the cages and kill many of the animals. As Polish resistance collapses under overwhelming odds, Dr. Heck arrives at the zoo, beseeching Antonia to let him save the "prize" specimens. Antonina reluctantly consents, but then learns that his motives are suspect. With the onset of winter, Heck again appears, this time to slaughter all the remaining caged animals, which he declares is an act of mercy as they would surely die in the cold. Heck, however, takes a certain delight in shooting an eagle himself, then casually telling an aide to have it stuffed.
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