I've always heard fascinating rumors about Anne Frank and her life living during the Holocaust but I never really found the strength to pick up her book and read her firsthand knowledge about what really happened and what it was like living under bombs. When I found there was a movie on Netflix about her that was young adult friendly, I was more than interested to watch the movie. Director Jon Jones intends for this movie to inform young audiences about the headstrong young lady, Anne, played by Ellie Kendrick and her struggles and emotions while living in a Dutch underground with more than just her family, while still obtaining the feeling and normality of a regular teenage girl. After receiving a diary for her birthday Anne is constantly writing all her thoughts and feelings about her now not normal life after finding out that they must go into hiding due to business with her father Otto, played by Iain Glen. With the help from Miep Gies who helps the family hide, Anne's curiosity about the outside world astonishes her and leads her to find out new things about her self and her body. This sassy teenager will not be pushed around and is not afraid to make sure things are fair even if she gets punished.This film had me at the edge of my seat and I was anxious to see whats happened next. This movie is great for younger audiences and it has an accurate portrayal of what life was like in hiding. Anne will bring our your curious side and you will connect with her as she unravels the truths of the heart. Cast: Kate Ashfield, Geoffery Breton, Ron Cook, Nicholas Ferrel, Iain Glen, Tamsin Greig, Felicity Jones, Ellie Kendrick Director: Jon Jones Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes

This movie was very captivating. It gave a good sense of what the times were like during the Holocaust, and what Jews had to go through to survive. It made you feel empathy the characters. The actors were very good at embracing their character and giving you a better sense of the characters personalities. In the book Anne didn't go into depth about her family's looks because she wasn't actually planning on anyone reading her journal. The movie gave a better perspective of her family without as much dialogue. I'm glad that I read the book before I watched the movie. The movie left out some of the smaller details the book was able to explain in more depth. I had to keep reminding myself that Anne's diary was first hand, and replace some of the missing details from knowledge from the book. The most intense scene was where there was a bombing going on outside of the Annex. You could feel the fear Anne's family was feeling. They felt trapped because there was nowhere "safer" for them to go, they just had to wait for the bombing to end and hope the Annex didn't get bombed.

The cramped existence that the Jewish hideouts were forced to endure during WWII and the Nazi period, is excellently portrayed by a cast of sensitive actors who were fortunate to have a good script to work with.Ellie Kendrick makes an excellent Anne, bearing a good resemblance to the Jewish girl who loved writing and kept a daily diary of events in the attic where her parents and a some other neighbors were forced to stay. Leslie Sharp and Nicholas Farrell as the Van Daans are particularly moving members of the strong cast.The gradual maturity of a girl confronting her feelings about boys as she grows up is portrayed in a poignant and tender manner. The story is compelling from the start and increases in intensity as various conflicts among the attic inhabitants arouse hostility and anger.What might have made the whole drama even more intense would be outdoor scenes outside the confines of the attic showing how the villagers were being treated by the Nazis, but since those incidents would be outside the scope of Anne's diary the drama remains intimate instead with a narrower focus.Well worth viewing even if you've seen the big screen version made by George Stevens in 1959.

I love a good TV drama, and The Diary of Anne Frank is that. Along with Occupation, it was one of the highlights of 2009, having been profoundly moved and disturbed by the events detailed in Anne Frank's diary since I was a little girl in primary school, this was a harrowing, poignant, sensitive and wonderfully acted mini-series that stayed true to the book. The mini-series is exquisite to look at, stunning costumes and settings, and the house was exactly like the house in real life. The writing is unusually sensitive, I never felt the mini-series got overly-dramatic or overly-sentimental, quite the opposite, and I think the writing really helped with that. The direction is excellent, and the music is haunting and evocative. It was the acting though where the Diary of Anne Frank really soared. Ellie Kendrick, instead of the obnoxious teenager she could have been, made for an intelligent yet somewhat lively Anne, very like the Anne in the book. Iain Glen is charming as the perfect father figure and Tamsin Grieg is luminous and quiet as the mother. Lesley Sharp is exceptional as Petronella, a selfish and independent matriarch, her actions were very entertaining. Then there is the sudden discovery, even for those who had read the book it was emotional, intense and sudden. Overall, this is a brilliant mini-series, in my opinion it is a must see! 10/10 Bethany Cox