--- description: In "The Zookeeper's Wife," Jessica Chastain plays a real-life Polish woman who sheltered and saved hundreds of Jews during World War II. title: Watch Jessica Chastain in 'The Zookeeper's Wife' Trailer image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jessica Chastain Risks Her Life to Save Others in the Trailer for _The Zookeeper's Wife_  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Nov 17, 2016 4:05 PM CUT  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Nov 17, 2016 4:05 PM CUT To judge it by its title, _The Zookeeper’s Wife_ may sound like a compilation of panda hugs and chimp high-fives—and indeed, [recent photos](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/11/15/jessica-chastain-zookeepers-wife-photos "undefined") from the set show star [Jessica Chastain](http://time.com/4063508/jessica-chastain-crimson-peak-meryl-streep-women-film/ "undefined") snuggling adorable lion cubs—but the forthcoming movie has more to do with [_Schindler’s List_](http://time.com/4563651/czech-republic-schindler-factory-holocaust-museum/ "undefined") than it does with [Animal Planet](http://time.com/4083838/zoo-atlanta-panda-cam-animal-planet/ "undefined"). Based on Diane Ackerman’s bestselling 2007 nonfiction book of the same name, the film tells the story of Jan (Johan Heldenbergh) and Antonina Żabiński (Chastain), a Polish husband and wife who sheltered Jews in their zoo during World War II. When the Germans invaded Poland in September of 1939, much of the Żabińskis’ zoo was destroyed, along with many of the animals that lived there. But the couple, as members of the Polish underground resistance, began smuggling in Jews escaping from the nearby Warsaw ghetto by hiding them in garbage cans they claimed were full of feed for the pig farm that now operated on the land. Risking execution if caught—the chief adversary in the movie is a watchful Nazi zoologist played by Daniel Brühl—the Żabińskis would go on to save the lives of 300 Jews throughout the Holocaust. **_(Gifts:_** [**_The 100 Most Influential Images of All Time)_**](http://shop.time.com/storefront/subscribe-to-time/link/1039114.html?xid=cm-TIMEShopscTIMEArticle "undefined") Directed by Niki Caro, best known for the 2002 New Zealand drama _Whale Rider_, _The Zookeeper’s Wife_ is set to hit theaters on March 31, 2017. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4573764/the-zookeepers-wife-trailer-jessica-chastain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4573764/the-zookeepers-wife-trailer-jessica-chastain/"},"headline":"Jessica Chastain Risks Her Life to Save Others in the Trailer for The Zookeeper's Wife","datePublished":"2016-11-17T16:05:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:51:47.112Z","description":"Chastain plays a member of the Polish underground resistance, sheltering Jews during the Holocaust","url":"https://time.com/4573764/the-zookeepers-wife-trailer-jessica-chastain/","keywords":["movies","World War II","Movie trailers","WWII","Jessica Chastain"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4573764/the-zookeepers-wife-trailer-jessica-chastain/","name":"Jessica Chastain Risks Her Life to Save Others in the Trailer for The Zookeeper's Wife"}}]}] ```