‘Where is Anne Frank’ was adapted from the autobiography ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’, which was written during the Second World War. It was produced as an initiative of the Anne Frank Foundation in collaboration with UNESCO, the Claims Conference, as well as the Foundation of the Memory of the Shoah, among others.
This film tells the story of Kitty, a fiery, vintage-dressed teenager. Kitty is actually the manifestation of the girl whom Anne pictured talking to, while writing her diary. Kitty is Anne Frank’s imaginary friend to whom she addressed her diary, and is brought to life in this animated film.
One day, Kitty wakes up at Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam and embarks on a journey to find Anne, whom she believes is still alive. As she retraces Anne’s footsteps, Kitty slowly discovers Anne’s legacy as she handles the shock of post-WWII modern Europe.
Ruby Stokes lends her voice to Kitty in this film, while Anne Frank is voiced by Emily Carey from ‘Casualty’ (2014-2017, 2021). Meanwhile, Anne Frank’s Peter is voiced by Sebastian Croft.
Other cast members include Ralph Prosser as Kitty’s Peter, Michael Maloney as Otto Frank, Samantha Spiro as Edith Frank, Skye Bennett as Margot Frank, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Stuart Milligan, as well as Andrew Woodall.
The film is directed by Ari Folman, an Israeli film score director, screenwriter, animator, and composer. He said that, due to her vast imagination, animation is the best way to portray Anne Frank.
“For someone like Anne Frank, who was so imaginative, if you want to portray her and her thoughts and dreams, it was the only method to do it,” he recently told The Times.
Folman illustrates the nightmare of the Holocaust through mythological allegory, finding parallels between images from the underworld and Nazi brutality.
“The Nazis had trains and in mythology there are ferries,” he said. “We have selections conducted by Hades and by the Nazis in the camps. There are also dogs present in both.”
The film illustrates how Anne Frank has been turned into a symbol, with Kitty witnessing Anne’s name everywhere in Amsterdam. She is told by a police officer (voiced by Folman), that Anne Frank is the greatest Dutch spiritual treasure since Rembrandt.
Throughout the film, Folman strives to emphasise the difference between the mythical version of Anne Frank and the real person who, he suggests, has disappeared because she has become somewhat deified.
“She was a fully formed individual, and it was important to separate the icon from the real girl,” Folman said.
He was determined to show the ‘real Anne Frank’-who enjoyed films, who flirted with boys and argued with her mother.
“You can’t fight the myth, obviously, but, if you’re making a film about Anne Frank more than 75 years after she died — even if it’s animated — you need to show how the icon was made, through plays, statues or whatever,” he said.
David Ehrlich from Indiewire praises illustrator Lena Guberman’s ‘rich and playful animation’ for being up to ‘the task of bringing such action to life. She flirts with myth and caricature in a way that flattens history into imagination, and the flashback scenes unfold against a backdrop of physical miniatures, a subtle masterstroke that helps grip the entire film in an unshakeable sense of reality.’
Ehrlich criticises Folman for a ‘lack of emotional oomph.’ “In lieu of a knockout blow, “Where Is Anne Frank” is left to settle for a certain tenderness,” he writes.
However, he praises Folman for doing ‘a valiant job’ of ‘repackaging’ Anne Frank’s memories for future generations.
‘Where is Anne Frank’ is released in the UK on 12th August 2022.