I believe that it is possible to dramatise an historical event and get away with it if the events are altered (Braveheart) if the film is entertaining enough. This however in my opinion does not work. Its very long and did not hold my interest. It should have been a documentary or a movie it tries to be a bit of a hybrid. The black and white cinematography is superb and a genuine feeling of claustrophobia is created with some clever shooting. At times the directing is very good the build up of tension during the air raid is superb and genuinely creates the fear they must have felt.Very little attempt is made to make the appearance of the characters look like they have been living in a loft for 3 years and they look as healthy the day the are arrested as the day they entered it. I found the growing emotional attachment between Anne and the young man a little too sugary and tended to detract rather than add to the movie. However the scene when she is "Fishing" for her good night kiss is well made and ends with a quite moving and well lit atmoshperic conclusion. Overall I enjoyed it but found it dragged somewhat and felt the opportunity to dig deeper into the conflicts between the inhabitants of the loft that must have occurred a mistake. The ending made me smile a little I had visions of Anne writing the "last entry" as the nazi storm troopers waited impatiently for her to finish before the dragged her off. A long film that although is well worth the 3 hrs of your life left me feeling a little let down by the substance and lack of character development.
Review of The Diary of Anne Frank
