A Small Light - General Discussion

[secnarf]

Quote

“A Small Light” follows twentysomething Miep Gies who, when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II, didn’t hesitate. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls (Otto Frank, his wife Edith and daughters Anne and Margot as well as four others) in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne’s Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.

Casting is currently underway for the three main characters, Miep, Otto and Jan.  Filming is due to begin in Europe in the coming months.

 

[DanaK]

Premieres Monday May 1 at 9pm ET with 2 back to back episodes. New episodes will show on subsequent Mondays at 9 and 10pm. Episodes will stream the next day on Hulu

https://tvline.com/2023/02/15/a-small-light-release-date-natgeo-anne-frank-series/

[DanaK]

Official trailer

 

[andromeda331]

Two episodes in and it's already making me cry. The first two episodes had a lot going on Miep getting hired by Otto, hanging out with friends, meeting her future husband and hiding the Franks, then Van Pels and Mr. Pfeffer and seeing how she's able to get food for them. I felt for Anne having to leave her cat behind. That would be so hard. Especially when Peter got to bring his cat. That really wasn't fair. I do wish we got to see Miep interacting with the Franks a little more before Otto asked for her help. She tells her friend about her wedding to Jan during lunch and Anne was flower girl. That would have been a nice moment to see. I remember Anne writing about the wedding in her diary.

It was really great seeing Miep get her and Margot passed the checkpoint. Miep's really a quick thinker. I like them showing how really hard it is to know who to trust. Poor Albert and Lindy.

Pissed at the US for rejecting Otto's visa. 

[Spartan Girl]

I’m already hooked. Only it’s really hard watching when you already kniw exactly how this is going to end.

Damn, Liev Schreiber is unrecognizable !

Anne comes off as bratty at times, but yeah, I was totally on her side about the cat. I hope the poor little thing wound up safe somewhere.

I’m glad that Miep helped the dentist even though they had too much people in that place already.

I can’t help wondering: who is going to sell them out?

[Straycat80]

This is really well done. I knew the short version of this story through Anne’s diary but I didn’t know the whole story from Miep’s side. I didn’t know Miep went through so much, how much danger she had put herself in. Sometimes I felt bad for her because the people she’s saving from the Nazi’s are complaining and not Cooperating. And I’m glad they are showing how her husband and the others helped in hiding Jewish adults and children. 

[Snow Apple]

1 hour ago, Straycat80 said:

This is really well done. I knew the short version of this story through Anne’s diary but I didn’t know the whole story from Miep’s side. I didn’t know Miep went through so much, how much danger she had put herself in. Sometimes I felt bad for her because the people she’s saving from the Nazi’s are complaining and not Cooperating. And I’m glad they are showing how her husband and the others helped in hiding Jewish adults and children. 

I read her book many years ago and remember it was really good. Very interesting to see from her point of view. It was made into a tv movie starring Mary Steenburgen. This mini-series made me want to read it again if I can find a copy.

[AllyB]

19 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

Sometimes I felt bad for her because the people she’s saving from the Nazi’s are complaining and not Cooperating.

To be fair, now that most of us have had to go through the mind numbing tedium of staying home for months on end, even with being able to take walks and exercise and stay in constant contact with the rest of the world, I have increased sympathy for people like the Franks and their companions. The utter claustrophobia or not being able to go out, to be completely quiet during the day, of having another family and man in the home that you can't ever leave would have been sanity destroying. The constant terror of the fact that you aren't actually safe and the people caring for you aren't safe, would have faded into the back of your thoughts when day after day had to be lived so unnaturally. I remember the mornings 3 years ago where I'd wake up just thinking, "great, another pointless day." After years of an even worse and more intense seclusion it's easy to understand how people would stop thinking straight.

And the thought that after all of that, it's going to end so badly for them.............

[Spartan Girl]

The reveal of that necklace was chilling.

“Someday the war will be over….and then you’ll have to live with yourself.” Truer words never spoken.

[andromeda331]

Damn two more really good episodes. They are doing a good job at showing how hard it is for everyone. I really can't imagine what it was like living locked away day after day with nothing to do and nowhere to go. All day long unable to make any noise no one downstairs hears anything. Can't see friends or even write to them. They can't do anything. The fear the Franks and friends felt when they heard what hopefully were just robbers coming through. The money was gone. Sad that they lost the money for Hanukkah.  

Having to take the two children away from their grandmother and that they must be part from each other too. Unfortunately the college student is right. Two children just showing up is too obvious. Part of me wanted to scream at the mother racing the through the church and yelling. She's giving herself away and her husband because the Nazis will kill them and the priest/Father who is protecting them. But to have to be away from your child. To never be able to see him or be with him. Someone else is with him every day, someone else, is taking care of him. But at the same time she's risking his life too.

I always knew it couldn't have been easy for Miep. Bringing food and supplies to the Franks and trying to cheer them up or Mr. Pfeffer ready to leave because he missed his fiancee and his son. I didn't know she also helped get children out of safely or that Jan did to. I felt for him when he found the "paper" was a baby. How so devastating. The baby was hidden in dresser. But the baby is safe while his family is not. They are doing such good work. I felt for Miep wanting to give the children to her adoptive parents' to raise but then didn't because she feared for her parents' if it was found out. For her brother Cas yeah he's used to hiding who he is but this time he knows he'll be killed if he's found out and that he's putting his parents' and everyone around him at risk. I felt for Miep wanting one night of fun to forget about everything that's going on. She was so looking forward to skating and the party. I get Jan for feeling guilty too. To be out having fun while people are hiding, and being killed. Poor Miep to find out her years long friend Tess was dating a Nazi and giving her a necklace stolen from a Jewish woman. God Tess, how can you be so horrible? I do like Miep pointing out that the war was going to end someday and Tess would have to live with herself.  

I like the scene with Miep, Mrs. Frank and Auguste as they helped her dress for the party. Telling her to go for herself but also for them. That was really nice of him.

[AllyB]

How much of the story we're seeing of the Gies is true? Did Jan really move a baby and help hide other families? Did they really help hide their landlady's grandchildren? Did Miep really have a gay brother who had friends arrested? Or is this all made up for the series? Maybe to soften the outcome of what happens in the annex? To make it appear that they had more positive outcomes than they did?

I know that at some point they do hide someone in their apartment. But that's all a basic Google tells me. 

[Spartan Girl]

Jesus, those babies…there really was no bottom with the Nazis.

I get going crazy with cabin fever. Two years living like that is unthinkable. At least in lockdowns we got to go out to walk. But still, that was a monumentally stupid that for Mrs. Frank to do. It’s not just her safety she was jeopardizing, it was everyone’s, including her own family!

The part everyone getting so excited about the Allies coming was painful to watch. I think we all knew what was coming after that.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Spartan Girl

[eejm]

On 5/12/2023 at 2:01 AM, AllyB said:

How much of the story we're seeing of the Gies is true? Did Jan really move a baby and help hide other families? Did they really help hide their landlady's grandchildren? Did Miep really have a gay brother who had friends arrested? Or is this all made up for the series? Maybe to soften the outcome of what happens in the annex? To make it appear that they had more positive outcomes than they did?

I know that at some point they do hide someone in their apartment. But that's all a basic Google tells me. 

I knew about the student the Gies' hid and that Jan worked with the Resistance, but I don't remember Miep's brother being gay or anything with the landlady or her family.

I'm surprised Bep's (the blonde secretary) father, Mr. Voskuijl, hasn't been seen.  He's the one who built the bookcase and built/repaired much of the furniture in the Secret Annex.  He was the supervisor of the Opekta warehouse located just below the hiding place and threw the scent off of warehouse workers who heard noises from the rooms above.  Mr. Voskuijl died of cancer before the Secret Annex residents were betrayed and they along with the Opekta employees were heartbroken about his death.

[andromeda331]

All those poor children. I'm glad a few managed to get away but it's so hard to see all those that didn't. The scenes at the theater were so hard. The nurse telling the woman she has to give up her baby so he will live and if she didn't he will be killed when they arrive at the camp. For the children that were taken away I assume their families are already at the camps? I'm surprised they showed the Jewish Council and their job was to "fill quotas" a lot of people did think they did to save themselves. I don't know if the council thought that or if they knew that they were going to eventually be arrested too. But they definitely. But that's another horrible part is that Jews were forced to do that, go through and sort Jewish belongings, and even worse jobs at the camp. Like 

@Spartan Girl correctly wrote there really is no bottom with the Nazis. 

I am glad the Resistance understood the consequences for blowing up the records building but did it anyways. 

The father and son forced to clean the street with their spit because one dropped a wrapper.  I was scared for Jan when the two Nazi started messing with him over his bike and the one decided he was "rude" and glad when he was released surrounded by all those bikes. And also when their home was searched. Miep's lucky that all those two Nazi did was laugh and drive off. 

I really don't understand Edith. At first I thought she was having a metal break but it really didn't turn out that way. She risked her life, her family's life, and everyone else in the annex, and everyone who was protecting them just to see the sun. Really? Over that? 

I like her conversation with Miep about love and marriage and marriage growing up. 

I like the scenes with Miep and Anne but they always make me so sad. Anne's not going to grow up and decided whether she wants to marry at all or even get to wear her new outfit to a party or anything. I know there's always been stories or gossip or maybe just shipping about Anne and Peter but I've always seen it as more of a Flowers in the Attic situation without the incest. Their locked in the annex together with five adults and they and Margot are the only teens. 

It really was hard seeing how happy the Franks, Van Pels, and Pfeffer so excited about D-Day and talking about going to school and other things soon since we know it won't happen.

[anna0852]

5 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I really don't understand Edith. At first I thought she was having a metal break but it really didn't turn out that way. She risked her life, her family's life, and everyone else in the annex, and everyone who was protecting them just to see the sun. Really? Over that?

I thought it was an early indication of the mental breakdown Edith was reported to have suffered in Auschwitz after she was separated from Anne and Margot.

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, anna0852 said:

I thought it was an early indication of the mental breakdown Edith was reported to have suffered in Auschwitz after she was separated from Anne and Margot.

Understandable, but again, it really was a stupid thing to do. Especially since it was only seconds after the Nazi guy left.

[One Imaginary Girl]

On 5/12/2023 at 3:01 AM, AllyB said:

How much of the story we're seeing of the Gies is true? Did Jan really move a baby and help hide other families? Did they really help hide their landlady's grandchildren? Did Miep really have a gay brother who had friends arrested? Or is this all made up for the series? Maybe to soften the outcome of what happens in the annex? To make it appear that they had more positive outcomes than they did?

I know that at some point they do hide someone in their apartment. But that's all a basic Google tells me. 

I was wondering about this, too, and I found this page that explained some of the differences between the show and the real history: https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/a-small-light/

It's rather disappointing to find out that so many liberties were taken when it's a good enough story on its own.  In fact, what I think makes this series is that it portrays Miep not as saintly (which I always thought) but as a normal woman who did the right thing.  That's a good message to convey, that you don't need to be perfect to do these things.

[AllyB]

On 5/18/2023 at 6:41 PM, One Imaginary Girl said:

It's rather disappointing to find out that so many liberties were taken when it's a good enough story on its own.

Especially when they left out a lot. Meip had to marry Jan when she did because she would have been deported back to Austria for refusing to join the Nazi women's association. That's an interesting story in and of itself and it was just swept past. And there is so much with Bep and her family to add in. 

That article refers to one of the writers saying they made Cas gay as Meip had 5 foster brothers so statistically 1 of them would probably have been gay. Which is honestly ridiculous. It then goes on to say that making him gay gave them a means to enter the world of Café 't Manje and the resistance activity done through there. But that was introduced completely independently of Cas as Jan went there through his boss' resistance contacts and continues to go there as a resistance member.

[Straycat80]

I knew these last two episodes would be heartbreaking to watch and I was right. I read the differences in the show from real life and wish they had also focused more on Bep and the other people who were also instrumental in helping the Franks and the other people in hiding instead of making up the fictional stories of the friend who was a Nazi sympathizer and Miep’s brother being gay. 

This series was very well done, I hope it wins some awards. I also learned a lot I had not known about because most stories focused on Anne and her diary. Miep, Jan, Bep, and the others who all put their lives on the line to help Jewish people at that horrible time in history were true hero’s. 

[Spartan Girl]

I think the only thing worse than dying in the Holocaust was surviving only to lose your entire family. Poor Otto. And that poor lady. The fact that her granddaughter died because the doctor wouldn’t treat a Jewish child…I truly hope there’s a hell.

Miep did everything she could, but good people will always wish they could have done more, even when there literally was nothing else they could have done. That part reminded me of Schindler’s List.

Gah, the diary.

Inaccuracies or not, this was a powerful show.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Spartan Girl

[Snow Apple]

I've often wished Margo's diary survived. She's seen as quiet and the good one, but I don't think she's as stuffy as Anne viewed her. What little we know of her, she was smart and sporty. She was popular with lots of friends. She wanted to be a midwife. I bet she had lots of thoughts that would surprise everyone. Still waters run deep.

[geekgirl921]

I keep focusing on how close they came to surviving. Somehow it just makes it sadder!

[Spartan Girl]

I’m a little annoyed that they never uncovered who sold them out. Yeah, it’s pure speculation at this point: anyone that knows for sure is either dead or not talking, but still.

[futurenostalgic]

On 5/3/2023 at 12:03 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I’m already hooked. Only it’s really hard watching when you already kniw exactly how this is going to end.

Damn, Liev Schreiber is unrecognizable !

Anne comes off as bratty at times, but yeah, I was totally on her side about the cat. I hope the poor little thing wound up safe somewhere.

I’m glad that Miep helped the dentist even though they had too much people in that place already.

I can’t help wondering: who is going to sell them out?

She’s a huge brat naturally and comes across that way in her own diary; she is the embodiment of a teenager without a large world view, as most her age are then and now.  She doesn’t need to be the sage,  fearless, wise beyond her years individually she has been made out to be In The aftermath (which she is not) like some type of heroine to have significance or historical importance.  She was a bratty teen unaware of the true gravity of the situation because she had a loving family who protected her.  Her story is humanizing because she is such a normal spoiled bratty kid

[bunnyblue]

14 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I think the only thing worse than dying in the Holocaust was surviving only to lose your entire family. Poor Otto.

I don't know how people like Otto found the strength to go on after losing everything. Especially after he learned that Margot & Anne did not survive...to have that last bit of hope extinguished...I don't think I'd have the strength to continue if I were in his situation. 

7 hours ago, geekgirl921 said:

I keep focusing on how close they came to surviving. Somehow it just makes it sadder!

Poor Peter van Pels died within days of the Mauthausen camp liberation. The cruelty & unfairness of that is just...damn. 

It's amazing to think that because of Anne (with an assist from Otto & Miep) everyone who hid in the Annex is still remembered 80 years after their deaths. May they never be forgotten. 

[andromeda331]

I was dreading both of these episodes. I almost put them off but decided I went ahead and watched them. There's no amount of waiting that would make it less hard. God, the raid was so hard. I was crying through both episodes. Miep trying to find another way when there really was nothing she could do. Jan trying to find another way. I still wish we knew who turned them in. It's so heartbreaking that Anne and Margot were so close Bergen-Belsen's liberation when they died.  Poor Peter and looking up when Edith and Peter's mother died. They were all so close to liberation.

I don't like the depictions of Anne as perfect. She wasn't. She was a teenager very outgoing, talked a lot, fought with her mother, and close to her father. That's what was interesting about Anne. She was a normal. I like Margot too. She was older, shyer then her outgoing younger sister. 

I like how they showed how hard life was in Amsterdam during the occupation. Running out of food, and using chairs as furniture. I didn't realize Jan had to hide because they were rounded up men for the work camp. It reminded me of that poem First They Came for. They were never going to be done taking people away.  

I'm glad the other helpers survived being sent to the camps. The ulcer saving his life.The other rolling into a corn field. That was so smart. I hope others did too. 

Their poor landlady lost her daughter, her son-in-law and her granddaughter. I felt for her when she went off on Miep about her chairs. The asshole doctor who refused to treat Liddy because she was Jewish and let her die. I hope he's burning in Hell with the rest of them. I was so worried that her meeting with her grandson would go badly. That he wouldn't remember or wouldn't want to be with her. I feel for him too. His entire family except for his grandmother is dead. How do you deal with that?

Same with poor Otto. I don't know how he went to go on after his entire family was killed. I can't imagine what he went through, what they all went through. 

[MaggieG]

This was a great show. I was hesitant at first to watch it knowing the outcome but I'm glad I did. The last two episodes were brutal to watch. The fact that they were able to hide out for 2 years is amazing but it makes it all the more horrible that they were caught so close to the war ending. My family is Dutch and I have visited the Anne Frank House a few times. I definitely recommend it if you ever visit Amsterdam. I had heard the story of Anne and her diary but it was on my first visit that I learned about Miep.

There were a few things I didn't like. I understand them speaking English and using British/English actors, but I don't think there was a single line of dialogue spoken in Dutch in this entire thing. Even the signs on the buildings when they're walking through the streets were in English. They threw in German but couldn't add a few lines of dialogue in Dutch? Yes, most of the players involved in this were native German speakers (The Franks, the nazis, Miep herself) but Jan, Bep and others were all Dutch and this took place in the Netherlands after all. 

21 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I’m a little annoyed that they never uncovered who sold them out. Yeah, it’s pure speculation at this point: anyone that knows for sure is either dead or not talking, but still.

Whoever did call is probably long gone by now and if anyone in their family knows it was them, they will probably never reveal that information. The sad part it, it really could have been anyone. People were paid by the Gestapo for information on anyone hiding Jews. The showed the potato man being somewhat suspicious. Also, I believe Anne mentioned in her diary that they had had a few close calls. 

On 5/20/2023 at 4:19 AM, AllyB said:

That article refers to one of the writers saying they made Cas gay as Meip had 5 foster brothers so statistically 1 of them would probably have been gay. Which is honestly ridiculous. It then goes on to say that making him gay gave them a means to enter the world of Café 't Manje and the resistance activity done through there. But that was introduced completely independently of Cas as Jan went there through his boss' resistance contacts and continues to go there as a resistance member.

This. The character of Cas and him being gay ultimately had nothing to do with this story. He was barely in it and didn't help Miep or Jan in any significant way. Unpopular opinion but this just screams of Hollywood and we must add some diversity. Instead of Cas, they could have expanded Bep's role a bit and added her father as he was also involved with helping the group. 

On the other hand, I didn't really mind the inclusion of Tess. I'm sure that's a situation that a lot of people living through this dealt with, having friends or family members being Nazi sympathizers or working for them.

I cried through most of the last episode but lost it when Mrs. Stoppelman was reunited with her grandson and he remembered the story of Kabouter Spillebeen and that they glued the little statue back together. My Oma told us that story a lot as kids. 

How amazing that Miep lived to be 100 years old.

[bunnyblue]

9 hours ago, MaggieG said:

Instead of Cas, they could have expanded Bep's role a bit and added her father as he was also involved with helping the group. 

Yeah, this is one of my biggest gripes about the series. Cas added nothing to the story yet he had an expanded role, while Johannes Voskuijl who was one of the helpers and built the moving bookcase was completely omitted from the story. And I kept waiting for Bep to have more to do and say (even if it was only talking with Miep about their situation) and that never materialized either. We barely got to know Victor Kugler too. I think the last 2 episodes are the most screentime and dialogue both Bep and Kugler got in the entire show. 

I've always wondered: what happened to Peter's cat after the raid?

[MJ Frog]

Welp. That was devastating. I am in awe of Otto Frank. Awe in all its various shadings: "a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder."

Minus the tragic flaw, he was like a figure from a Greek tragedy, tossed about by the whims of the Gods and then doomed to live with the horror of it all. I cannot imagine how he was able to go on, but I am glad he found meaning and purpose through Anne's work. And I am glad he had such wonderful friends in Miep and Jan -- I found myself unreasonably happy to hear he lived with them for the next seven years. How could it have been any other way?

I can't believe I haven't read Miep's book already, but it is now next on my list.

[paul4295]

Despite the historical inaccuracies and British accents, I thought this was very moving, and pretty much excellent all around.  I hope it gets some well-deserved Emmy nominations.  I thought all the performances were really good.  Bel Powley had the showier role, and she was very good, but Liev Schreiber's understated performance was heartbreaking.  I don't know how this got buried on the National Geographic Channel (which I have never watched before), but I'm glad I found it, and I'm recommending it to everyone I know.

Edited May 25, 2023 by paul4295

[ams1001]

On 5/25/2023 at 1:22 AM, MJ Frog said:

Welp. That was devastating

I just finished watching last night. I think I cried the most at the scenes when they still had hope that they would find the girls. It was hard to watch, knowing that I couldn't hope with them.

[MJ Frog]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I just finished watching last night. I think I cried the most at the scenes when they still had hope that they would find the girls. It was hard to watch, knowing that I couldn't hope with them.

Yeah, after the first hour I stopped going to get tissues and just brought a bunch with me. I hadn't yet read or seen anything that delved into that awful time of waiting immediately after the war. The combination of hope and terror must have been torture.

[Snow Apple]

On 5/24/2023 at 7:47 PM, bunnyblue said:

I've always wondered: what happened to Peter's cat after the raid?

I found this interview with Miep:  http://teacher.scholastic.com/frank/tscripts/miep.htm#:~:text=What happened to Mushi%2C Peter's,not feel at home anymore.

Regarding Peter's cat:

"What happened to Mushi, Peter's cat?"
After they were arrested, the cat was still there. It did not run away. But the cat did not feel at home anymore. It missed Peter. But one day the office cleaner asked if she could take the cat. She took Mushi and gave the cat a new home.

[abbyzenn]

I've only watched the first 4 chapters - it's too emotional to watch more than one at a time.  As others have said it is hard watching knowing how it ends for those in the attic but the stories of the others involved in helping them and the resistance in general is captivating.  It's interesting to see those stories play out as is the look at life under the Nazis for the Dutch.

Until someone mentioned it above I had no idea it was Liev Schrieber was play Otto.

[Spartan Girl]

3 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I found this interview with Miep:  http://teacher.scholastic.com/frank/tscripts/miep.htm#:~:text=What happened to Mushi%2C Peter's,not feel at home anymore.

Regarding Peter's cat:

"What happened to Mushi, Peter's cat?"
After they were arrested, the cat was still there. It did not run away. But the cat did not feel at home anymore. It missed Peter. But one day the office cleaner asked if she could take the cat. She took Mushi and gave the cat a new home.

At least the cat found a happy ending.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, abbyzenn said:

Until someone mentioned it above I had no idea it was Liev Schrieber was play Otto.

I looked up the cast while I was watching the first episode to see if anyone I know was in it because I didn't recognize any of the actors. I saw it was him and was like, "no way!" Even by the last episode I still wasn't totally convinced.

[Valny]

On 5/25/2023 at 2:58 PM, paul4295 said:

Despite the historical inaccuracies and British accents, I thought this was very moving, and pretty much excellent all around.  I hope it gets some well-deserved Emmy nominations.  I thought all the performances were really good.  Bel Powley had the showier role, and she was very good, but Liev Schreiber's understated performance was heartbreaking.  I don't know how this got buried on the National Geographic Channel (which I have never watched before), but I'm glad I found it, and I'm recommending it to everyone I know.

ITA especially on Liev Schreiber's understated performance. (and the accent was great too) I hope he gets nominated for an Emmy as well as Bel Powley. Man, the tears in her big eyes she has for a lot of the scenes were amazing.   I think the first time I cried was when the grandson came back,and he was not sure of his grandmother until she told him that story, but it was when he leaned in and quietly said,I remember you....that got to me. Liev made me tear up too and I dreaded him finding out about his daughters. So grateful Miep kept that diary and gathered all the pages.  
Hope the show also gets nominated.   

[steph369]

Agree it was very moving and hard to watch knowing the outcome. 

You don’t need any accents. It’s the acting that matters. I actually find the accents take away from the performances sometimes because the actors are concentrating on it too much. It’s silly to use them anyway.  Why not just let the actors use their natural accents? It’s not as if the characters would be speaking to each other in English with foreign accents. 🤣 They’d be speaking German or Dutch. They’re only speaking English onscreen for our benefit, so just use their natural accents and we can use our imagination that they’re speaking the foreign languages. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by steph369

[abbyzenn]

Finally finished this, have to admit I was in tears watching the last episode even knowing what had happened to the.  What a moving show.  How courageous Miep, Jan and all the other were.

Since this was on the Nat'l Geo channel I don't think it will get the awards it deserves.

[Valny]

On 6/3/2023 at 3:58 PM, abbyzenn said:

 

Since this was on the Nat'l Geo channel I don't think it will get the awards it deserves.

It's also streaming on Hulu and Disney+ so it has a good shot of being nominated. At least I hope so.

[Constant Viewer]

On 5/23/2023 at 11:15 AM, Snow Apple said:

I've often wished Margo's diary survived. She's seen as quiet and the good one, but I don't think she's as stuffy as Anne viewed her. What little we know of her, she was smart and sporty. She was popular with lots of friends. She wanted to be a midwife. I bet she had lots of thoughts that would surprise everyone. Still waters run deep.

There was a book about Margot by Julian Cantor that imagined she had survived and was secretly living in America.

[AstridM]

It’s depressing that this excellent show didn’t even get a full forum, while so many craptastic shows do. 🥲

[BuckeyeLou]

I will echo what others have said:  this was an excellent show, well done & emotional.  Liev Shrieber was so calm & strong.  And I have never seen Bel Powley in anything before, but she was excellent!  Such expressive eyes & just broke my heart with everything Miep went through to help save her friends.  Wonderful performances also from the young actresses playing Anne & Margot and the young man playing Jan.  

[mostlylurking]

Just finished this.  Like others have said, it was excellent.  I had no idea Otto was played by Liev Schrieber.  Such a calm, understated performance.  I had seen the actress who played Miep in The Morning Show where she had a smallish part, and much lighter material.  All the acting was top notch.  It just broke my heart that they had so much hope for liberation, they managed to stay hidden for TWO YEARS, and that was the outcome.  Just senseless.

Of course I knew the story of Anne Frank, but I never heard it told from the perspective of the helpers.  I’ve never really thought about it that way honestly; it was  so heroic how they put their own lives on the line to do what was right.  

I read a book entitled “The Light in Hidden Places” about another helper and the families she hid, with much smaller and less stocked accommodations.  Take a look if anyone is interested (authors name escapes me but it was a very good book). 

[paul4295]

The only Emmy nomination it received was for Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score).  Nothing for the actors or the show itself.  I was hoping at least Liev Schreiber would be nominated.  He's been nominated in the past, so I thought maybe he'd have a shot. 

[HerkyJerky]

Late to the party but my mom, sister and I really loved it.  We Googled Miep and Jan and found out they had a son, Paul.  When I Googled Paul I found out he graduated Univ of Iowa in 1978 and I graduated there in 1980.  Truly mindblowing to think we could have been in the same class or been drinking at the same bars together!

[andromeda331]

22 hours ago, HerkyJerky said:

Late to the party but my mom, sister and I really loved it.  We Googled Miep and Jan and found out they had a son, Paul.  When I Googled Paul I found out he graduated Univ of Iowa in 1978 and I graduated there in 1980.  Truly mindblowing to think we could have been in the same class or been drinking at the same bars together!

That's so cool.

[paul4295]

Coming back after 6 months with the news that Bel Powley was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for this.  Good for her!

[andromeda331]

12 hours ago, paul4295 said:

Coming back after 6 months with the news that Bel Powley was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for this.  Good for her!

That's great!