Beauty of spirit in the midst of War! January 8,
2001
Anne Frank wanted to be a writer, maybe live in Paris....but
life didn't go the way she wanted it to. Instead, her life went
in a completely opposite direction. I cannot help feeling that
perhaps her life was meant to be the way it was, so generations
after her, would remember the war in such a way as to never want
such a human tragedy to occur again. This is a version of the
Broadway drama dealing with the Holocaust and perhaps that is
why it is more upbeat. This movie is more entertaining than
horrifying. While there is an undercurrent of fear and suspense
throughout the whole movie, there is much left to the
imagination.
When Anne and her family are forced into hiding in Amsterdam,
she is pensive at first, but soon learns that she can create her
own happiness. There are two families living in a small space
and they must face the possibility of being discovered at any
time. They face hunger and cabin fever. They spend time reading,
sewing, listening to the radio and being as quite as they can
for most of the time. In the evenings when the workers in the
factory below go home, they can then resume family life.
Anne has not been exposed to the evils of life. In 1942 she
starts a journey to learn about herself and about the hardships
of life. After receiving a diary as a present, she immediately
starts to pen all her thoughts which are buried deep in her
heart. As they spill out onto the pages, we are invited into
Anne Frank's world. The world of a teenage girl, who is just
learning about life, yet who learns so much in so little time.
I found this movie to perhaps be the most emotionally
engaging story I have ever watched on film. Anne Frank had my
heart in the first ten minutes. I was in love with her
character, her personality, her big bright eyes, her interesting
way of looking at life, her thought process, her eternal
optimism and her delightfully impetuous nature. You will simply
forget you are watching a black-and-white film. The picture is
so colored by the characters that in fact, you will forget you
are watching a movie. It is quite amazing how a film could be
made on two families living in a few rooms in an attic. For this
to be possible and enjoyable, the story had to be so true, and
so real, that it would demand your full attention.
While this movie is based in the second World War, it is not
at all pensive through the entire movie. I found myself laughing
at one line so much, I actually cried. It was a line about the
cat and I think you will think it is quite funny, especially if
you watch the expression on the face of Ed Wynn as he is saying
it. The cat belongs to Peter and becomes a part of the family.
Having a cat in this movie was a delightful surprise.
The playful taunting between Anne and Peter is amusing. Anne
has no friends to talk to and can't believe she is trapped up in
this room with no girlfriends to talk to. She is such a typical
teenager, that you completely understand her frustration.
While today we find it hard to comprehend how anyone could
have their freedoms taken away from them, It could happen as
easily to us as it did to them. Each time we treat someone with
disrespect, we add to the evil influences in the world. It all
starts in the heart. To me, Anne represented the good in the
world, the light shining in the darkness. She had a heart which
was so giving and she was open to experiencing life, no matter
what her circumstances. Perhaps her soul was the most beautiful
one God ever allowed to walk on our earth, and for such a short
time. This is a movie you will never forget. Of all the movies I
have seen, this one was the most beautiful in spirit.
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