The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank

Stars: Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard, Cross Creek, Back to the Future III), Paul Scofield (A Man For All Seasons), Huub Stapel (Amsterdamned, The Lift), Lisa Jacobs. Based on the book Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies, who helped hide the Frank family and other Jewish families during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank is a rote retelling of Gies' story. Competently played by Mary Steenburgen, Miep Gies was an employee of Otto Frank (Scofield) who brought food and other supplies to the families hiding in the "secret annex" above Otto Frank's business offices. As an inspirational story, the hiding of Anne Frank is a stirring, if fairly well-known, tale. As a movie, however, The Attic is completely lacking in dramatic tension: we already know the sad outcome of the tale, and all of the characters are strictly one-dimensional. Miep Gies never falters, questions, or otherwise swerves from her angelic course, Otto Frank always looks pensive and hopes for the best, and Anne Frank (Jacobs)--who's seen rarely in the film--nearly always displays a forced-Shirley-Temple-bubbliness. On top of that, every German shown in the film is evil personified, either derailing women on bicycles or pushing old people in the street (which is not to say that this portrait may not be accurate, it just isn't dramatically interesting). The final straw is the blaring music in nearly every scene which dictates to viewers exactly what emotion they're supposed to be feeling. Audience: People looking for the story of Anne Frank won't find it here; however, those who are interested in WWII and Holocaust films in general will take a look at this.