Fails the Bechdel test
Defiance
2008. Directed by Edward Zwick, written by Clayton Frohman and Edward Zwick and Nechama Tec.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
11 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
On the run and hiding in the deep forests of German-occupied Poland and Belorussia (World War II), the four Bielski brothers assist a large community of Jewish refugees and then face the almost impossible task of foraging for food and weapons required for survival over the winter. Led by Tuvia Bielski, the community hides in fear of discovery, contending with neighboring Soviet partisans and unsure whom to trust. People of all ages work to survive, building makeshift homes in the dark, cold and unforgiving forests. They develop relationships, struggle with fear and uncertainty, and manage internal dissent. As Zus Bielski joins the Soviet Partisans, the brothers become part of a larger effort to defeat the Nazis.
- Released
- 16 Jan 2009
- Genres
- Action, Drama, History
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 58 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 5 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Tuvia 286 lines, man
- Zus 175 lines, man
- Asael 79 lines, man
- Shimon 55 lines, man
- Malbin 49 lines, man
- Lilka 39 lines, woman
- Viktor 30 lines, man
- Bella 27 lines, woman
- Chaya 19 lines, woman
- Koscik 17 lines, man
Full cast, 73 people
- Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski
- Liev Schreiber as Zus Bielski
- Jamie Bell as Asael Bielski
- Alexa Davalos as Lilka Ticktin
- Allan Corduner as Shimon Haretz
- Mark Feuerstein as Isaac Malbin
- Tomas Arana as Ben Zion Gulkowitz
- Jodhi May as Tamara Skidelsky
- Kate Fahy as Riva Reich
- Iddo Goldberg as Yitzhak Shulman
- Iben Hjejle as Bella
- Martin Hancock as Peretz Shorshaty
- Ravil Isyanov as Viktor Panchenko
- Jacek Koman as Konstanty "Koscik" Kozlowski
- George MacKay as Aron Bielski
- Jonjo O'Neill as Lazar
- Sam Spruell as Arkady Lubczanski
- Mia Wasikowska as Chaya Dziencielsky
- Mark Margolis as Jewish Elder
- Markus von Lingen as German SS Scout
- Rolandas Boravskis as Gramov
- Algirdas Dainavičius as Motl Lubczanski
- Aurelija Prasmuntaite as Rachel
- Ina Frismanaite as Avram's Daughter
- Ana Goldberg as Lila
- Leonardas Pobedonoscevas as Jacov
- Kristina Bertasiute as Dark Haired Beauty
- Kristina Skokova as Red Haired Woman
- Remigijus Bilinskas as Pinchas Zuckerman
- Rimgaudas Karvelis as Oppenheim
- Leonas Ciunis as Accountant
- Aleksandr Zila as Chaya's Father
- Iveta Nadzeikiene as Chaya's Mother
- Clayton Frohman as Isadore Skidelsky
- Marc Levy as Yechael Efrati
- Zoe Rosenblum as Sarah Oppenheim
- Sakalas Uždavinys as Lova Volkin (as Sakalas Uzdavinys)
- Saulius Janavicius as Israel Kotler
- Leonidas Kotikas as Krensky
- Dalia Smalskiene as Rosa
- Tadas Kavaliauskas as Levine
- Matas Cancingeris as Little Boy
- Diana Aneviciute as Koscik's Wife
- Sigitas Rackys as Belarussian Police Captain
- Vaidas Kublinskas as Police Captain's Son #1
- Valentin Novopolskij as Police Captain's Son #2
- Dalia Michelevičiūtė as Police Captain's Wife
- Ervinas Peteraitis as Kissely The Milkman
- Dmitrij Denisiuk as Policeman
- Antanas Šurna as Orthodox Rabbi
- Dalius Mertinas as Belarussian Police Officer #1
- Vaidotas Martinaitis as Belarussian Police Officer #2
- Aldona Bendoriute as Jewish Mother Separated From Child #1
- Darius Gumauskas as Jewish Father Being Beaten #1
- Irmantas Bačelis as Jewish Father Being Beaten #2
- Edita Užaitė as Jewish Mother Separated From Child #2
- Jordan Bielsky as Villager Getting Shot
- Gediminas Girdvainis as Screaming Man
- Stanislav Adamickij as German Captain
- Klemens Becker as SS Captain
- Jonas Tamulevicius as German Courier
- Jaroslav Pšenička as German Officer In Car
- Jolanta Dapkūnaitė as Woman In Car
- Miroslav Lhotka as German Officer
- Giacomo Strasser as German Private
- Mac Steinmeier as German Sergeant
- Dmitrti Slepovitch as Musician
- Arkadij Gotesman as Musician
- Borisas Kirzeneris as Musician
- Raimondas Sviackevicius as Musician
- Vidas Petkevičius as Avram Rubinski
- Rimantė Valiukaitė as Miriam
- Janina Matiekonytė as Well-Dressed Woman
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 1 scene, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 7
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 1 | 0 | 18 |
| 2 to 2 | 4 | 129 |
| 3 to 3 | 36 | 332 |
| 4 to 4 | 36 | 152 |
| 5 to 5 | 0 | 10 |
| 6 to 6 | 27 | 29 |
| 7 to 7 | 26 | 175 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 13 are women's.
129 lines from women, 845 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
11 women and 39 men in the cast. 9 women and 28 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 101 of 1,051.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 100 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 14% of the words (1,680), men 86% (10,683). Women have 13% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
7
Two men
60
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 33% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Edward Zwick (man)
- Written by
- Clayton Frohman (man), Edward Zwick (man)
- Produced by
- Edward Zwick (man), Pieter Jan Brugge (man)
- Shot by
- Eduardo Serra (man)
- Edited by
- Steven Rosenblum (man)
- Music by
- James Newton Howard (man)
- Production design by
- Dan Weil (man)
- Costumes by
- Jenny Beavan (woman)
- Cast by
- Gail Stevens (woman), Victoria Thomas (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
6 women, 17 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 4 men, 5 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 39 on average. Men: 41 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Alexa Davalos 26, Jodhi May 33, Kate Fahy 58
Men
Jamie Bell 22, Iddo Goldberg 33, Mark Feuerstein 37, Daniel Craig 40, Liev Schreiber 41, Tomas Arana 53, Allan Corduner 58
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.6 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $32 million
- Box office
- $51.2 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 7 scenes and 1,051 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
