The Zookeepers Wife

That's not to say the book isn't remarkable.  But it is difficult material. The movie is directed by New Zealander Niki Caro (Whale Rider) and stars Jessica Chastain (The Help) and Johan Heldenbergh as Antonina and Jan Zabinski.  This movie is based on the true story of the Zabinski's successful efforts to save the lives of over 300 Jews and Polish resisters during WWII by hiding them in the unused cages and tunnels of the Warsaw Zoo.  This very big story becomes quite intimate in a scene in which Antonina earns the trust of a young girl who has been abused by the Nazis inside the Polish ghetto.  Both the best and the worst of humanity is depicted in this moving and memorable film.