Anne Frank Remembered

Anne Frank Remembered (1995)

*** (out of 4)

With over 25-million copies of her book sold, Anne Frank is without question the most famous name of the victim's to Adolf Hitler's reign of terror during WWII. The teenager would keep a journal of her and her family's years of living in terror as they hid never knowing if someone would learn about their whereabouts or perhaps someone would tell on them. Then, of course, there was the drama of being so close with one another in such a short space, which just added to the drama as the outside world was falling apart. I think this is far from the perfect documentary for a number of reasons including a pacing issue, which I felt really made the film drag at spots. I'd also say that the documentary loses focus throughout and there are times where items other than Anne are being covered and they're just not nearly as interesting. With that said, the film is still very much worth seeing but in large part due to Miep Gies who was the main person who kept the family hidden and didn't give away their secret. It's pretty amazing getting to hear from someone so close to the events and not to mention that she not only helped the family but she was the one who discovered the diary. Hearing her tells her stories are without question the highlights of the film and this includes some pretty emotional stuff as she tells about the family being taken away from their location and of course the father having to learn that he was the only one who survived the Holocaust. I think the film probably would have been much better had it focused on her because there's no question that things aren't as sharp when she's not on the screen. The film is certainly worth seeing just for her but those interested in Anne Frank would probably be better served by either reading the actual book or watching the 1959 movie.