Le journal d'Anne Frank

We had to watch this movie in Drama class my freshman year of high school. Problem was that I had Drama 1st period. I slept a lot 1st period (and sometimes 2nd). So a 3 hour movie that the teacher taped (with commercials) was turned in to a two week affair, or so it seemed. I got another shot to watch it late one night, 4 am or so, on Bravo. Problem was, unbeknownst to me, it was a two night deal. So I only took in the first half of it. Finally got the shot to see the whole thing on AMC this afternoon. Millie Perkins was just wonderful as Anne Frank, and a great cast all around. I knew Shelley Winters had won an Oscar but not what for. Sometimes a good story is so much better because it's a true story, like Apollo 13, and this is no exception. It's hard to imagine these things actually happened.

Go watch this sometime when you have 3 hours free.

8 out of 10 from me.

Throughout the movie, it's the hopefulness that is constantly being expressed that makes this all the more sad to watch - because, of course, we (the viewer) know the hopelessness of the situation; we know how it's going to end.

The story is based on a stageplay which was in turn based on the actual diary of Anne Frank, whose family (being Jewish) went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Holland in 1942, sharing a very small space with several others. As the title implies, the movie is largely about Anne. We watch her grow up in this claustrophobic setting - starting at age 13 and spending more than two years there until the group was discovered. Starting out as a child with a natural rebellious streak, Anne grows into a young woman, falling in love with a young man sharing the living quarters. Millie Perkins was excellent as young Anne, and I was impressed with Joseph Schildkraut as her father Otto, who was in the end the only survivor. The movie begins and ends with his post-war visit to the place where they were hidden, and his grief at being the only survivor among his family is powerfully portrayed. In general, all the performances in this were quite good, and there was a believable portrayal of the difficulties involved in so many people sharing so little space under such stressful circumstances, and there are a number of very suspenseful moments involved. It's a very moving story.

Based on the play, the movie is about two families that go into hiding in Amsterdam during World War II. This movie has Millie Perkins starring as Anne Frank who has an excellent performance and a brilliant narration. Anne Frank also has chemistry with Peter Van Daan, a boy from the other family. The cinematography is great. I especially like how the camera moves up from floor to floor. The film is very suspenseful and keeps your eyes glued to the screen to see what happens next. The final reason why this is great is that it shows spirit and hope in dark times. I'm surprised that no one watches this movie that much today. It seems that it is a forgotten gem.

Based on the famous diary and the stage play, this is the story of one of the most well known victim of the Nazis. In 1942, she receives the blank diary on her 13th birthday. Soon, the family is hiding in the attic of her father's business with others. A few employees would help them stay hidden for over 2 years before they are discovered by the Nazis.

Surprisingly, there is real tension especially during the robberies. The quiet brings a heighten intensity. The cast's acting is generally great. There is a poignancy with this first film production of the material. The only drawback is Millie Perkins. Her inexperienced acting actually works for her in this case although as a twenty year old, playing Anne at 13 is a little off. She doesn't have the youth to play the character's brattiness. It's a minor problem in an otherwise terrific production.

This worthwhile cinematic tribute to "The Diary of Anne Frank" offers a solid cast, some very effective settings, and a generally well-considered selection of episodes. No mere movie could convey the full force of the original diary, which no one who has read it can forget. But this movie version is good in its own right, and it does add some memorable, if sometimes non-historical, images to the story. The script does alter some details, and it's hard to see why they could not simply have filmed a selection of actual events, since that could have been more than effective enough. But, as a movie in its own right, it works well.

The Diary is most important for its record of the daily lives of real individuals who lived in constant fear because of the Nazis and their irrational persecutions. It puts names and faces on the kind of human disaster that is all too often described in terms of mere numbers. The movie does well in bringing out this aspect of the diary, making the characters come to life in settings that are interesting, detailed, and believable. The photography also makes good use of the settings and the details.

The other significant aspect of the Diary is its portrait of Anne herself. Her writings combine observations on the overall situation with observations about her own life and self, with a surprising degree of perception. This does not come out so much in the movie, though of course this would be much harder to accomplish. Millie Perkins projects a rather different image from the original Anne, but then again, there is nothing really wrong with her performance in itself. She does make a sympathetic and generally believable heroine. The supporting cast generally does a good job. The fine character actor Joseph Schildkraut gives the best performance, as Anne's father Otto.

Overall, if viewed with reasonable expectations and evaluated apart from the book, this adaptation is an interesting and worthwhile movie.