Freaktana
A Major Disappointment
Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Zlatica
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
bognarnicolas
Being an Anne Frank fanatic since I first learned about her, I was thrilled when I saw this movie for rental at the video store. I saw it many times since because it shows her whole life from 1939 - 1945. Gordon, Kingsley, Blethyn and Taylor are good names and they did splendid jobs but so did all the actors in this film. I read the biography too and Melissa Müller portrays a full, true picture of these people and their lives in those dark times. I gave it 9 out of 10 only because it contains a few errors but otherwise best Anne Frank and Holocaust movie to date in my opinion! Also, I wish it would have been shot on location in Amsterdam. The last part of it is an important part of our history that simply can't be allowed to happen again and therefore it must be shown through movies like this!
Thane Dynamo
There has never been a film in my life that I have adored as much as "Anne Frank". I found it on the Internet and thought "I'll give this a try" and I did. I have to say, I was lost in so many ways: lost in amazement, lost in admiration and lost in great sadness. In short, I loved this film so DEEPLY, despite being reduced in tears at the same time. The story is based on the biography by Melissa Müller and tells of the young girl before, during and after her years of hiding with her family and friends from the Nazi terror over Holland during the Second World War. Throughout the film, you have emotion and in-depth introduction to just about every character in the story. You have a complete exploration into the unfortunate life of a young girl with SO many ambitions. To express an opinion, Hannah Taylor Gordon is the perfect actress to portray Anne Frank, her emotions are just...outstandingly adorable. It is just brilliant to not have a celebrity actress to play her. There is also Ben Kingsley, who plays as Anne's father, Otto. He, too, has the perfect match to the protective father and his emotions at the end made me cry. All the other actors and actresses were fantastic, my personal favourite being Jessica Manley as Anne's older sister, Margot. Normally, there are cons that should be noted, but to me it is an insult to give any, an insult to Ann Frank's memory. The film is a bit slow, but that isn't bad at all. If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is a film that goes through a story quickly, ruining the pleasure of watching a film. Anne Frank is a great exception, it goes through the story slowly and steadily and the characters are introduced in a great way. A warning to those who are vulnerable to tragic scenes, the last half hour is heart-wrenching. I am not ashamed to admit, I was in floods of tears during that half hour and I don't usually cry. So as a conclusion, I give this film a definite 10 and I have made it a personal favourite. I highly recommend it!
Roman Buettner (roman_bue)
I have seen many of the Anne Frank movies and yet - none has ever felt as right as this one! Whoever reads Anne's diary will have the impression that she was - for her age - a normal, sometimes troubled teenager, full of dreams and ideas about her future. Anne never hesitated to note down her fears and frustrations in her diary. "Anne Frank: The Whole Story" shows this specific trade of her personality and differs - especially by this fact - from all prior movies on the subject who often idealized her. The actress portraying her demonstrates this ambiguity in Anne's character in a wonderful, natural way without making the girl seem dull or flat. The same is also true with the rest of the cast who do not only look much like the historical people but who also create the tone that can be found in Anne's diary. To me as a historian it is the small details that count: By shooting this film in and around the original Amsterdam house and sights, not only the "annex" seems realistic but also the whole film itself reaches a never-before-seen level of authenticity and gives the story a whole new quality. Last, and most important of all it seems, is the fact that the plot of this movie begins long before the Franks hid in the annex and ends with Anne's father Otto as the family's only concentration camp survivor who eventually decides to publish his daughter's diary. This has been left out by all the films before and is a good proof that the movie makers did their homework by going beyond the story portrayed in the book! Therefore the title "The whole story" is well chosen. I recommend this film to all people who have read the diary and who were disappointed by the other films. This is a must-see for all students and teachers of history!
-628
This well-made TV movie is a very moving experience. Seeing in graphic detail how a well-adjusted and endearing teenage girl deals with the horrors of persecution as her family is forced into hiding to avoid the Nazi terror cannot fail to engage the heart and mind. It shows Anne before the Nazi invasion of Holland as a bubbling girl eager for education and socialisation. Her indomitable spirit is well portrayed during her family's long months of hiding in the back of a factory in Amsterdam. Her physical deterioration after her capture is shown graphically, as is her will to survive to make her mark upon the world. Ironically, she did make her mark upon the world posthumously through her diary, the most-widely read work of non-fiction in the world after the Bible.For me, the virtual incarceration of her family in the factory was very sad and thought-provoking. Taken from their normal lives and stripped of all those things they held dear, Anne's family strives to remain positive of better times ahead. How would we fare if required to give up all that we possessed and go into hiding for fear of our lives? A totally depressing thought, and yet that is what happened to Anne and her family.The later scenes, after the family was captured, humiliated, separated and sent to concentration camps, is simply tragic.The fine performances of Hannah Taylor-Gordon in the title role and Ben Kingsley as her father, Otto Frank, deserve special mention, although the entire cast was believable. Hannah Taylor-Gordon's performance was a revelation - she conveyed a range of emotions that superbly captured Anne's spirit and also her human weaknesses.The movie is not without its weaknesses. It is slow at times and could perhaps been improved by tighter editing, although this may have detracted from the accurate portrayal of the tediousness of living concealed behind closed doors for so long a period.The concentration camp scenes are disturbing and Anne's gradual physical deterioration is depressing. It is not a movie to entertain but one to stir the emotions and the resolve to ensure that this sort of persecution and genocide is never again allowed to happen.It is also a depressing reminder that it still is happening in various parts of the world.
