Germans, boys, diaries and snoring (The Diary of Anne Frank)

Member Name: kellylouj

Product:	The Diary of Anne Frank
Date:	15/01/09 (417 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great character, great adaptation.

Disadvantages: None

In June 1942 a 13 year old girl called Anne Frank began to write a diary and it is now one of the most popular diaries ever published.

The diary of Anne Frank was shown at 7pm every day from the 5th January for 5 consecutive evenings.
I read the book many years ago and was quite keen to watch the adaptation but after missing it I watched it via bbc iplayer and I was glad that I did make the effort to go back and watch it.

*~*Episodes*~*

Having read the book a good few years ago I was familiar with the characters but I was in awe at how well the cast had been selected as not only were they all extremely talented in the roles that they played but they were also very similar in appearance to the characters that they were playing.

The Frank family grew up in Frankfurt, Germany and when Hitler seized power in Germany in 1933 the family fled to Amsterdam to avoid the persecution of the Jews.

Episode 1
We are introduced to the Frank family on Anne's 13th Birthday, here she receives a diary as her gift and she enjoys a party surrounded by her family and friends.
Several days later a letter arrives for her sister Margot who ahs been called up so Otto Frank decides to keep his family together by going into hiding in an Annexe at Otto's Spice Company, its a small space but keeps the family together.
They are told that they are to be joined by another family who will live in the upper part of the annexe whilst the Franks sleep in the lower part of the annexe.

Anne instantly takes a dislike to the limited space and lack of privacy and takes to writing her feelings in her diary which she refers to as "Dear Kitty", her mother and sister seem to be sinking into depression so it is left to her father to keep spirits high.

When the Van Daans appear on the scene Anne takes a dislike to Peter as he is too shy and quiet and when she discovers how her was allowed to bring his cat to the Annexe she resents him as she was the one that had to leave her beloved pet behind.

Episode 2
The toilet is blocked and the family find themselves terrified as a plumber is called in to fix it, fortunately for the families he does not need to enter the annexe and it is repaired at the office level.

Anne is now getting more frustrating with the Van Daans as Mrs Van Daan is becoming more and more demanding and sets about complaining about the way her parents have spoilt her and do not discipline her well enough.
Miep their helper who has been bringing them many of their belongings arrives to advise of the bad news that the Van Daans apartment has been ransacked and their property has now been confiscated by the Jews.

Episode 3

As the two families are adjusting to life in the annexe and their quiet days, they learn that the office building is to be sold and their secret hideout will soon be discovered, fortunately Mr Kleiman is able to put off the new owners from visiting the annexe by advising he does not have the key with him and the families secret hideout remains just that.......for the moment.

Mr Dussel also arrives to join the families and Anne is forced to share her room with Mr Dussel which she is not too happy with especially when he demands the use of her desk to write letters to his love which in Anne's opinion is putting them in grave danger and increasing the chance of them being discovered but Mr Dussel is so distraught at being separated from his loved one he continues.

For the first time in the drama we see Anne bond with her mother as they bathe and talk about her as a baby then they all celebrate Hanukkah together as well as bonding with her mother in this episode we see her making more of an effort to get on with Peter and they appear to be growing closer.

Episode 4

A year later as Anne celebrates her 14th Birthday at the annexe, despite dreaming that she has a delicious chocolate cake surrounded by all her friends she finds herself enjoying a single bar of chocolate and growing into a young woman. Confused by her changing body and her feelings for Peter we see her break down and show her emotions.

The Van Daans are causing problems with their arguments and as they run out of money they argue over what items they can sell to create more funds, Anne walks in on the arguement and ends up feeling the wrath of Mrs Van Daan and runs up to the attic to talk to Peter and she finds herself asking question to determine whether he has an interest in her.

Episode 5

The family are awoken by the sound of intruders and when Mr Frank goes down to the office to check if they have left with Peter they realise they are still in the building and hurry back to the annexe.
Anne begins to realise that she does not have all that much in common with Peter after all and is confused by her feelings, she tries to confide in Margot but she thinks Anne is acting all spoiled again.
It is now Edith's birthday and Miep manages to find some butter to bake a cake despite the food shortages and spirits are lifted for a short time period until the govenment confiscate the radios and the bombing begins to get worse.
Just as the family gain hope that the allies are coming they are discovered by the Germans and their belongings confiscated before they are taken away from the annexe and separated.

Miep and Bep managed to avoid the search of the annexe and were able to return once they had all left and it was here they discovered Anne's Diary which Miep took to look after in anticipation of her return.

~*~My Thoughts~*~

I really enjoyed this drama and it was a brilliant cast that I feel made it work so well. The likeness of the actors to the characters they were playing were extremely similar and Ellie really played Anne's character well.

I was a bit wary of the adaptation not doing the book justice but it really did and I was suitably impressed with the adaptation, but if you do want to catch this you need to do it within the next day via iplayer.

*~*Cast*~*

Anne Frank played by Ellie Kendrick she plays the role of Anne so well and as with many of the other characters has a strong resemblance to the character they are playing.
Ellie plays a strong character and portrays her many emotions well and I could not think of anyone more suitable play the role.

Otto Frank is played by Iain Glen he has such a strong relationship with Anne it is easy to see that she is a real Daddy's girl. Iain plays a loving character and takes on the characters role well.

Edith Frank played by Tamsin Greig, despite being one of the main characters she tends to fade into the background due to her character suffering from depression of being in a confined space and the worry of being separated from her family.

Margot Frank played by Felicity Jones again is a main character but due to the shyness of Margots personality she rarely interacts with the other members of the household it is in episode 3 that we are treated to the sisterly bond with Anne when they have a talk with one another and learn how each one has been secretly envious of each other.

Peter van Daan is played by Geoff Breton and he plays an excellent character. He displays great emotion when portraying his fodness with Anne and he is such a gentle, caring character.

Hermann van Daan played by Ron Cook I found him more difficult to relate to as he seemed to be somewhat of a pompus middle aged man with a passion for cigarettes and spends his time arguing with his wife.

Petronella van Daan played by Lesley Sharp and her performance did not disappoint, she plays a spoilt rich lady that despite the war being on thinks she should still be able to request her luxury items such as nail varnish. The perfomances between Anne and her are very comical and I find myself smirking as I watch the two characters interact with one another.

Albert Dussel played by Nicholas Farrell he spends the majority of his time pining for his loved one and annoys Anne to great lengths by spending most of his time using her desk to write love letters back and forth which the Franks feel could be putting them in danger or being discovered.

Mr Kugler played by Tim Dantay he is the office manager and is one of the key characters to the families survival, he is a stern man who states the rules that the families need to follow to ensure that they are not discovered.

Mr Kleiman played by Roger Frost we only see him appear a few times throughout the whole drama and when we do his role is minimal and overall is a fairly unmemorable character.

Miep played by Kate Ashfield she is the main aid to the families for delivering food to them and clothes, she runs errands for the family and is their lifeline to the outside world.

Bep played by Mariah Gale is also a key character to keeping the families she always brought something to them and Anne always noted this in her diary she was a key role in providing them with milk and clothing.

Summary: A great adaptation that really does justice to the families.