The Diary of Anne Frank

Many, many years ago I watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" in elementary school. The years have passed and I cannot remember what grade this took place. While I cannot recall which teacher was responsible for introducing me to this sorrowful tale of the atrocities of Nazi Germany during the second World War, I can recall thinking how horrible it must have been to live in seclusion and not be able to make a sound during the day and in constant fear of being taken away by ´evil´ men. The film is now fifty years old, which is a good number of years older than myself and I do know that it was already fairly old when I had first seen the film. Truth be told, I have not watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" since I had done so for educational purposes and the screening of this film a couple decades later was almost as if I had been watching the film for the first time.

Directed by George Stevens and adapted for the screen by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is based upon the writings of young Anne Frank that had been discovered upon her fathers return to the location where they had been kept in secret for a couple years before being arrested and taken into custody into the Nazi death camps. There has been some argument as to the legitimacy of Anne Frank´s diary, but much of the controversy has been from the very same people who will argue that the Holocaust did not happen. I have always been of the mind that Anne Frank´s writings do tell the story of what happened to the young girl and her family. The film did not win the Academy Awards for Best Director or Best Picture and its screenplay was not even nominated, but "The Diary of Anne Frank" is, in my opinion, more of a necessary education than entertainment.

The film begins with Otto Frank (Joseph Schildkraut) returning to the office building where he and his family had remained hidden for two years and given the diary pages by Miep Gies (Dodie Heath) that his daughter Anne (Millie Perkins) had kept during the time before being taken to concentration camps. Otto had owned the office building and was the sole surviving family member of the war. The man breaks into tears at gaining ownership of his daughter´s written words and the film quickly moves into telling the story of the diary when Otto, his wife Edith (Gusti Huber), daughters Margot (Diane Baker) and Anne lived in hiding. They are joined by friends Hans van Daan (Lou Jacobi) and his wife Petronella (Shelley Winters) and their sixteen year old son Peter (Richard Beymer). Later, a family friend and dentist Albert Dussell (Ed Wynn) joins them in the secret rooms of the office building.

Anne is the central character and a lot of time is spent showing her relationships with those that had inhabited the cramped upper floors of the office building. She had a very cold and distant relationship with her mother, but was quite close to her father. The dynamics of Anne´s relationship with her parents are touched upon as are those with the van Daan family (whose last name was changed for the film). Anne did not get along with Hans and Petronella, as they looked upon Anne as a nuisance and she did not appreciate some of the things done and said by her father´s friends. However, Anne did have a romantic relationship with Peter that began with the two teenagers barely on speaking terms in the beginning as the shy Peter stayed away from Anne´s advances, but their claustrophobic living conditions eventually brought them together. This romantic relationship is a central theme in the film and one of the strongest subplots.

Young actress Millie Perkins was not the first choice to portray Anne Frank. Susan Strasberg had portrayed Anne in the popular play that had inspired the film, but she declined to continue to role in front of the cameras. Twentieth Century Fox turned their attention to popular child star Natalie Wood, but Wood did not accept the offer either. Audrey Hepburn was the same age as Frank and had survived Nazi occupation in the Netherlands as well. She was the actress whom Otto Frank had wanted to portray his daughter, but she did not want to relive the events of her teenage years in occupied territory and turned down the role. Perkins did not have the star power of either Wood or Hepburn, but the young actress showed the spunk and character of Anne Frank and the teenage starlet carried the film nicely on her young shoulders.

As the story continues, the hardships of the family are revealed as they struggle to survive with only enough rations that can be obtained with three ration cards and to be completely silent during the day when workers and customers inhabit the floors below their hiding place. Much time is spent during the frames of "The Diary of Anne Frank" to show how they passed the time during the day or to give a sense of what panic would transpire if an errant noise was made. Admittedly, this does not make for the most exciting film experience, but this was an essential part of young Anne Frank´s story and needs to be shown on screen. I am far more content that the filmmakers didn´t overlook some of the things that made survival difficult by zeroing in on only the exciting elements of Anne´s diary.

The supporting cast is nicely cast and while only Schildkraut and Huber made the transition from stage to screen, all comfortably fit into their character´s skins. Veteran actress Shelley Winters took home one of the film´s three Academy Awards for her performance and Ed Wynn was nominated for Best Support Actor. The film is a drama that relies on emotion to succeed and each actor and actress convey the stress and fear that each of the captives had to live with in their daily lives. "The Diary of Anne Frank" does move through the events rather quickly, but at three hours in length, the film could not have afforded to be any longer and the actors used in the picture all do their best with the amount of screen time they are given as the sparse and cramped sets also do not provide them any distractions from their performances. In a film where performances are essentially all there is; the actors perform wonderfully.

George Stevens was nominated for Best Director and "The Diary of Anne Frank" earned a nomination for Best Picture. "Ben-Hur" would take home both Oscars in these categories, but the black and white "The Diary of Anne Frank" is a solidly made film that tells an important and emotional message through limited sets, a small cast and a modest budget. Some stock footage is used to help tell the events of World War II that transpired during this time and a few occurrences could be seen in the streets outside of where the Franks were kept hidden, but most of this film takes place in the confined spaces of the office building. The sets are cramped and minimal and the vast majority of the film takes place in either silence of limited dialogue as the family had to keep silent and could pass the time only with conversation. There wasn´t a lot to work with and the filmmakers did an admirable job in keeping this three hour film interesting.

"The Diary of Anne Frank" is a powerful story that may not be a technical masterpiece, but the story that is told is important for others to learn. There is a reason this is almost standard curriculum in education. I can´t remember what year I watched the film, but I tend to think it was either sixth grade or during middle school. Regardless, I remember sitting around the old VCR and television and watching this film and remembering how this was my first lesson on the Holocaust and I was shocked that people had to live like this. For this reason alone, "The Diary of Anne Frank" is required viewing material. The film took some liberties in bringing the story to the big screen, but it tells Anne Frank´s story wonderfully through the film´s actors and Steven´s vision. This film isn´t perfect, but this film is something that should be watched at least once in everyone´s life.

--> Read More ...

Mr. Troop Mom (DVD)

You may recall the Michael Keaton film, "Mr. Mom," where Keaton played a husband who's unemployed and manages the household while his wife is out working. Here, in the 2009 release "Mr. Troop Mom," George Lopez plays much the same type of guy, only this time he's a widower trying to deal with his thirteen-year-old daughter and her wilderness team. Different times, same idea.

Now, you might wonder if a story about a middle-aged man and about 800 very cute, early teenage girls out in the wild would produce a situation in somewhat questionable taste. But nope. Nothing here to fuel a Palin-Letterman controversy. "Mr. Troop Mom" is a Nickelodeon original TV movie, so squeaky clean the MPAA gave it a G rating, something usually afforded only to Disney and Pixar cartoons.

The trouble with most "family" movies, though, is that the term is a misnomer. It seems to me that good family movies should interest both children and adults, movies like the aforementioned Disney and Pixar animations, "Mary Poppins," "The Parent Trap," or "Spy Kids." Yet most filmmakers really aim their family pictures at young children, with parents obliged to put up with the films while their youngsters enjoy themselves. So it is with "Mr. Troop Mom," a film aimed squarely at families with kids, the specific appeal primarily to girls in the ten-to-fourteen year-old range. If you're an older teen or adult, I make no promises. I found it all rather bland and antiseptic but totally without offense.

Stand-up comic and TV sitcom star George Lopez co-produced and stars in "Mr. Troop Mom," another of the actor's attempts to bring wholesome entertainment and a non-stereotypical Hispanic image to movies and television. It might seem odd, then, that the movie should contain an almost nonstop string of other stereotypes and clichés, until you recognize that for children, the stereotypes and clichés probably aren't trite or overused at all.

Lopez plays a widowed lawyer, Eddie Serrano (no coincidence, I'm sure, that his real-life spouse is Ann Serrano), with a thirteen-year-old daughter, Naomi (Daniela Bobadilla), to care for. Naturally, as with almost all movies aimed at this age group, parents are either absent, invisible, or in this movie barely tolerated by their offspring. Naomi thinks her dad is completely clueless, something only encouraged by the impudent au pair, Catalina (Elizabeth Thai), an Asian woman whose Dragon Lady attitude and difficulty with the English language make her one of the movie's more unabashed stereotypes. Of course, we can see the movie's message coming in the first few minutes: Parents and their children must share common interests and mutual respect if they are ever to love one another fully. Eddie must show that he can "connect" with Naomi, or he'll lose her to...whatever.

Eddie is a flamboyant lawyer whose shenanigans no judge would actually allow in a courtroom, but, hey, it's television. In court Eddie is a winner, but at home he's losing his daughter's favor, and he knows it. So, with the daughter's annual Wilderness Team competition coming up, and the team's chaperone having a baby in his living room (I kid you not), Eddie volunteers to escort Naomi's team to the Spring Action Classic at Hulka Rock, a summer camp in the mountains. Even though Eddie's idea of roughing it in the wild is lighting the barbeque in his backyard, he decides this is the only way to show his daughter he can be a real parent. You can pretty much guess what comes next.

When he, his daughter, and three other girls arrive at Hulka Rock, he finds himself the only guy there, amongst what appear to be young girls from all over the state come to compete in various tag-team competitions. His daughter's team is the Killer Bees, and a rival team from Naomi's school is the Wasps. Wouldn't you know that the Wasps would be catty, snobby, WASPish cheaters, chaperoned by a pushy blonde mom, Denise (April Amber Telek), who's single and putting the moves on Eddie? And wouldn't you know that the head honcho of the camp, Ms. Hulka (Jane Lynch), would be a tough-as-nails martinet and that her assistant counselor, C.C. Turner (Julia Anderson), would be a sweetheart charmer?

--> Read More ...

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women (Theatrical Release)

Mark Twain once famously advised aspiring writers, "Don´t say the fat lady sang. Drag her onstage and make her sing." Over the years, that quote has been simplified for creative writing students to just this: Show, don´t tell.

Writer Harriet Reisen and director Nancy Porter do both in a new film biography of Louisa May Alcott that´s been making the festival rounds. "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women" is based on a forthcoming book by Reisen, a former fellow in screenwriting at the American Film Institute. Without a doubt, this film is the most effectively dramatic biography of a public figure that I´ve seen. Viewers aren´t just told about the life of this famous American writer; they relive it, through a talented cast that acts out segments and gives "interviews" to the camera.

The general public will get a chance to see "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women" on December 28, 2009, when it airs on PBS as part of the American Masters series. The awards it´s been winning confirm the film´s wide appeal: Grand Award at the Providence Film Festival, Audience Choice at the Cape Code Filmmaker Takeover, Best Feature Doc at the L.A. Reel Women Festival, and Best Family Feature at the Garden State Film Festival.

As much as I´ve enjoyed the American Masters series and its biographies of actors, artists, writers, and musicians, the talking heads and archival material can feel like a straitjacket for filmmakers . . . and audiences. Even the Ken Burns effect--slowly panning or zooming in or out of a photograph--can get old during the course of a feature-length film. Most recreations have failed because they´re sparingly done, poorly cast and directed, or so clumsy that they just seem cheesy. But "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women" gives us liberal, well-conceived dramatizations throughout, making them as dominant as those talking heads that are also featured. What´s more, there´s none of the usual take-yourself-too-seriously austere narration that so often accompanies literary biographies. Louisa May Alcott and her family are brought to life with dignity, but also humor. All of the dialogue that´s used comes from journals and letters, and that lends an authenticity and unabashed forthrightness that´s uncommon in films like this.

"I don´t enjoy writing moral pap for the young," an adult Louisa May Alcott says directly into the camera, as if talking to an interviewer (or interloper). "I do it because it pays well."

Reisen gives us an intelligent script that doesn´t skimp on humor. Sometimes, it´s the material itself; other times, it´s the way that the screenwriter arranges it. When, for example, an older Alcott recalls her third birthday party at which she was coached to give the sweet treats to her guests, since there weren´t enough to go around, this exchange follows, with each character "interviewed" separately presented in quick juxtaposition:

Louisa May Alcott: "My first lesson in the sweetness of self-denial."
Bronson Alcott, her father: "The whole celebration gave much pleasure."
Louisa May Alcott: "Birthdays are always dismal times to me."

Bronson Alcott (Daniel Gerroll) was a thinker but not much of a businessman. At one point, the family lived in a basement apartment on the fringes of the worst slum in Boston. Louisa May felt an obligation to help lift her family out of poverty--especially her hard-working and long-suffering mother, Abigail (Dossy Peabody)--since her father apparently couldn´t do it and often depended on the kindness of strangers. When we´re told that Louisa May begins to sell her writing to Godey´s Ladies Book, Graham´s Magazine, and The Gazette, Louisa May comes on-camera again, positively dripping with the driest humor: "I think that, though an Alcott, I can support myself."

At first it´s a little jarring to have running commentary and interviews with long-dead family members and early biographer Ednah Cheney interspersed among the usual talking-head interviews with Alcott scholars and museum heads, but the casting is so perfect and the acting so wonderful that you quickly accept the premise. Other than Hal Holbrook´s Mark Twain, I can´t think of another literary figure that´s brought so realistically to life. The adult Louisa May Alcott is played by Elizabeth Marvel, who goes through a full range of emotions throughout the course of this film, from wry humor to heartfelt tears. Viewers may know Marvel from her ongoing role as Officer/Detective Nancy Parras from "The District" (2000-04), or as the warehouse realtor in "Synecdoche, New York." She´s a three-time Obie winner who seems absolutely comfortable as Alcott, and because of that we also feel comfortable.

--> Read More ...

John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band: Live in Toronto '69

I´m sure I don´t have to explain who John Lennon was or how he was a member of one of the greatest and most successful rock bands of all-time, the Beatles. Nothing lasts forever though and the group eventually went their separate ways. Still, their impact on pop culture can still be felt today despite being thirty years removed from the height of Beatle-mania. "The Simpsons" have made numerous references to the group and their work while MTV Games will soon be releasing the hotly-anticipated Beatles version of "Rock Band."

On September 13, 1969, the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival was held at Varsity Stadium packed with an audience of about 20,000 people. Organizers were able to book an all-star line-up of performers that included Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddly, Chuck Berry, Alice Cooper, and the Doors who were the headlining act. Organizers had hoped to the Beatles would be able to play, but the band declined. However, John Lennon was interested and his set during the festival marked the first time a Beatle would strike out on his own. Taking place only weeks before the release of Abbey Road, the Beatles´ final album record, the Toronto Revival also signaled the end of an era. Lennon along with his wife, Yoko Ono, formed the first incarnation of their Plastic Ono Band, a nebulous title associate with whatever musicians were on hand. In this case, the band included bassist Klaus Voorman, drummer Alan White, and Eric Clapton on guitar. While the actual concert was twelve hours in length, this film (originally released under the title, "Sweet Toronto") focused mainly on Lennon´s set. The film itself was directed by D.A. Pennebaker who also documented the Monterey Pop Festival as well as directing concert films for diverse artists such as David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Depeche Mode.

The DVD opens with a brief interview with Yoko Ono who discusses the origins of the Plastic Ono Band and how they got the name. The answer to the latter involves a bizarre story about Yoko wanting to form a band of plastic boxes. The film gets off to a rousing start with Bo Diddley ripping through a performance of his eponymous hit, "Bo Diddley." The song is intercut with backstage footage of the other artists as well as Lennon´s arrival via motorcade. From there, we watch Jerry Lee Lewis singing "Hound Dog" and Chuck Berry with "Johnny B. Goode." Next, Little Richard (sporting the pompadour to end all pompadours) tickling the ivories with an excellent of "Lucille."

As Lennon and his associates take to the stage, the former Beatle simply notes they´re just going to play songs that they know. The Plastic Ono Band hadn´t done any rehearsals and really the whole idea was a very spontaneous deal. Lennon´s set included several cover songs as well as a few new numbers. Lennon begins with Carl Perkins´ "Blue Suede Shoes" followed by Barrett Strong´s "Money (That´s What I Want)," which the Beatles had famously covered on their second album, With the Beatles. Next comes "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and a song off the Beatles´ White Album, "Yer Blues." Lennon rounds out the night with two singles that would be released under the Plastic Ono Band banner, "Cold Turkey" and "Give Peace a Chance." Unfortunately, that is not the end. Things literally end on a sour note when Lennon utters the dreaded words, "Yoko is gonna do her thing now." I´m sure Ono is a very nice lady, but she should not be within a million miles of a microphone. Ono provided back-up vocals earlier in the night, sounding like a starving seal begging for a sardine. Even that was a trying experience, but her lead vocals are beyond the pale. We are subjected to Ono´s wretched warbling against grinding guitar feedback on the final two numbers, "Don´t Worry Kyoko (Mummy´s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow" and "John, John (Let´s Hope For Peace)." If there is anything good to be said about this horrid performance, there are at least some priceless looks on the face of Eric Clapton as Yoko screeches into her mic. All I have to say is, John must have really, truly loved this woman.

--> Read More ...