The diary of Anne Frank

¶ … Diary of Anne Frank in Film and Print

99281 the story of Anne Frank is one that is memorable whether it is read or viewed but upon careful inspection, there are some differences between the two that require a decent amount of consideration for reality. The book, the Dairy of a Young Girl, has proven to be an honest recollection of what occurred through the eyes of Anne Frank, a young girl who, with her family, hid from the Nazis during World War II. The film, the Diary of Anne Frank, directed by George Stevens, while it is based upon the novel, assumes certain things and does not seem to grasp the seriousness what is occurring outside. While we might believe that Anne is a young girl on the brink of womanhood that might be distracted with teenage feelings, it is difficult to believe that she is as happy and carefree as the movie depicts her. While the movie can relate certain aspects that a book cannot, it also takes liberties where it should not.

There can be no doubt that this movie is based upon the Diary of a Young Girl. However, what should be kept in mind while watching this film is the term "based upon" because the film does not follow the lines of the book and it has very few direct quotes from the diary. This should not detract from the quality of the film but should always remain in the background as one watches it. It is marvelous that the film was shot in the house where events actually occurred and this plays powerfully in the opening scene of the film when the father is thrusted into a flashback of where it all began. To the film's credit, the sounds of the bombing and the sirens in the background are compelling and conveyed excellently in the film. In addition, the soldiers marching through the streets is something that allows viewers to relate to the tension the families experienced not just one but on a daily basis. This single image reinforces the reason why the hiding, which becomes muddled as the film progresses. The way such scenes are contrasted with the childlike scenes, such as Anne trying on Mrs. Van Daan's coat is nice and realistic because it juxtaposes the young girl with the hiding Jew. The film may capture certain images about the experience but the book conveys them properly.

There are discrepancies such as the two families not arriving together and while this may seem minor, we must remember that this is not in line with the film. The film moves quickly through the experience and even the last scenes are far from what actually occurred. For instance, the diary was not found in solid form but rather in pages strewn across the floor. In addition, Anne is too sugary sweet for a teenage girl living in seclusion on the brink of destruction. The film does not go into all of the difficulty living in confined quarters and with limited food and water might bring other than a brief mention. Anne's tale encompasses the scope of a human experience that actually is beyond words because she is relating the experience of so many individuals. The lack of food and communication is best illustrated in the book when Anne tells us a "week's ration of food doesn't last for two days" (Frank 240). When we look at the book in this sense, we can see that it does serve its purpose more than the film does because it is closer to the actual account of the experience.

The book captures the negative feelings of the characters up until the end when Anne is conflicted by the negativity she experiences all around her and the hopefulness she feels for a future - especially with Peter. This type of naivety is perfect for the written page because one never truly express all of the feelings one experiences regardless of how one tries. Here we see Anne not trying to convey anything to an audience and thus she expresses a mood and emotion that is completely spontaneous and unassuming. We can never have this with a film because the very act of filming removes any sense of realism from the scene. However, we can know that Anne was writing only for an audience of one and this lends more credibility to the novel because it is authentic in a way that a planned film could never be.

The ending of the film is different from the book in that the characters had time to "get ready" for the something (though they know not what) to occur. In the book, such as in life, things end abruptly. Anne does not have time to sit down and pen what is happening as it is happening and many may consider this to be a sad ending to the story but it is a realistic one. The diary ends with the teenager observing life, specifically her own, through the lens of a teenager without a serious consideration of what may wait for her in the future. Certainly, her family lived in hiding for quite some time and Anne was a young girl unable to grasp what was occurring around her. These facts make the book more compelling and more realistic because we know that the odds of Anne penning any pages in her diary as the SS army came through the doors was slim. From what we can discern from the book, the helpers were present at the time of the arrest and they, too were taken. The arrest was a complete and total disguise if we are to go y the book. No one was aware of what was about to happen. In fact, we might even think, along with Anne, that things were looking up since liberation seemed to be so close at hand. In this way, the film seems to drift away from the book in order to make a good movie rather than tell the story of a young girls diary.