"Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank" or "The Diary of Anne Frank" is a German movie from this year. It runs for over two hours and was written by Fred Breinersdorfer and of course the girl mentioned in the title originally. The director is Swiss filmmaker Hans Steinbichler and his work here will keep him in the elite of Swiss movie makers these days. He was probably in there before the film already. The main character is played by Lea van Acken and she is as good here as she is in "Kreuzweg". Her character really seem to be heading tragic fates. The parents are played by Martina Gedeck and Ulrich Noethen, both very established German actors who have worked in the industry for a long time. Anne's older sister is played by Stella Kunkat, who I liked a lot in "Dschungelkind", when she was the child actress in the center of it all playing the title character. So the premise is certainly there that sparkled my curiosity. And I did not get disappointed in the slightest.
The story of Anne Frank is a famous one. Most schools include her diary as an essential part when it comes to the books the pupils have to read. And there are many films about this subject too, also Oscar winning movies already (the one in the 1950s in this case). And there is a fairly famous mini-series starring Ben Kingsley. So yeah, the film is nothing that has not been there before, but it tells about a story that is important to be kept alive. Which was successfully done here. It is the story of a Jewish girl who tells us about her every day life in Germany. And there are several reasons why this is not just another entry to the big mass of Nazi-themed films that does not make a difference. It does. One reason is of course that it is a first-hand narration by somebody directly involved. But the heart and soul is the main character coming-of-age. She tells us a lot about other stuff, not just about Nazi Germany and the way she and her family are discriminated against. It is also about love, about a teenage girl growing from being a child into a young woman. There are also some slightly explicit physical references about sexuality. It's much more than a film about the Holocaust.
I believe what makes this film really precious is the fact that it is so easily accessible for younger audiences, for people who are the same age as Anne. They understand her thinking and they can easily identify with her, especially the girls probably. Annd at the same time, they learn an extremely important lesson about history. I do believe that in German curriculums, the years of Nazi Germany and World War II may generally be a bit over-represented, but I can absolutely understand how this book (and maybe also this movie) should really be a part of the curriculum because it's history teaching itself to the current generations in a way that is probably better than any teacher could do it. But back to this movie. I would not say it is a perfect film by any means and maybe not even necessarily better than other films about the character, but what makes it interesting is that most films about Anne are really American and not German, which is a bit strange. I think all the actors are giving strong performances and it is impossible to say who's the best. The two child actresses are really extremely convincing. And the film manages a solid balance between tragically sad scenes (like the final hair cutting) and moments that could be about any teenager really. It all works nicely. For a 2-hour film it has really not many parts where I said these could have been cut and it never drags. It also manages to be quite essential and I loved the scenes when we see nothing but Anne and she is talking to us. I very much enjoyed the watch. It is a film that is entertaining as well as informative. Probably the best 2016 release I have seen so far and a contender for my favorite German 2016 movie. I highly recommend the watch.
The story of Anne Frank is a famous one. Most schools include her diary as an essential part when it comes to the books the pupils have to read. And there are many films about this subject too, also Oscar winning movies already (the one in the 1950s in this case). And there is a fairly famous mini-series starring Ben Kingsley. So yeah, the film is nothing that has not been there before, but it tells about a story that is important to be kept alive. Which was successfully done here. It is the story of a Jewish girl who tells us about her every day life in Germany. And there are several reasons why this is not just another entry to the big mass of Nazi-themed films that does not make a difference. It does. One reason is of course that it is a first-hand narration by somebody directly involved. But the heart and soul is the main character coming-of-age. She tells us a lot about other stuff, not just about Nazi Germany and the way she and her family are discriminated against. It is also about love, about a teenage girl growing from being a child into a young woman. There are also some slightly explicit physical references about sexuality. It's much more than a film about the Holocaust.
I believe what makes this film really precious is the fact that it is so easily accessible for younger audiences, for people who are the same age as Anne. They understand her thinking and they can easily identify with her, especially the girls probably. Annd at the same time, they learn an extremely important lesson about history. I do believe that in German curriculums, the years of Nazi Germany and World War II may generally be a bit over-represented, but I can absolutely understand how this book (and maybe also this movie) should really be a part of the curriculum because it's history teaching itself to the current generations in a way that is probably better than any teacher could do it. But back to this movie. I would not say it is a perfect film by any means and maybe not even necessarily better than other films about the character, but what makes it interesting is that most films about Anne are really American and not German, which is a bit strange. I think all the actors are giving strong performances and it is impossible to say who's the best. The two child actresses are really extremely convincing. And the film manages a solid balance between tragically sad scenes (like the final hair cutting) and moments that could be about any teenager really. It all works nicely. For a 2-hour film it has really not many parts where I said these could have been cut and it never drags. It also manages to be quite essential and I loved the scenes when we see nothing but Anne and she is talking to us. I very much enjoyed the watch. It is a film that is entertaining as well as informative. Probably the best 2016 release I have seen so far and a contender for my favorite German 2016 movie. I highly recommend the watch.