During the bulk of my secondary school history education, I remember only focusing primarily on World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. Eventually, we would go through topics of prohibition before reaching World War II but, by this time, it was summer and everyone’s energy was spent. Therefore, it’s fair to say that my knowledge of Anne Frank was basic at best prior to the advanced screening. With such an important subject matter too, I questioned how I would go about reviewing Where Is Anne Frank – especially if I didn’t enjoy it. Thankfully, this was not the case.
Where Is Anne Frank is the latest picture from Israeli writer and director Ari Folman. His previous work includes Waltz with Bashir, the Oscar-nominated dramatised documentary about his time as a soldier in Lebanon, and The Congress, starring Robin Wright discussing themes of identity and exploitation in the industry. What all three films have in common is the use of animation as a way to delicately depict brutal imagery through surreal storytelling. In this movie, Anne Frank’s imaginary friend Kitty (voiced by Ruby Stokes) comes to life in a modern day version of Amsterdam, confused as to why copious amounts of people are roaming around the house. Unsure what has happened to Anne and her family, she searches the city for an answer, making friends and enemies along the way.
With such an inventive premise, I believe animation was the best way to convey this narrative whilst also sustaining our belief. The motion is fluid with realistic looking characters and the art style helps convey different emotions experienced on our journey through various colour palettes. Coming out from the pages of Anne’s diary, Kitty’s form can alter like they’re made of ink gliding through the air. As she re-reads the book throughout her adventure, we’re transported back to the 1940’s where the Nazis are portrayed as faceless, hulking brutes marching in uniform. Dehumanising them means we focus more on the tone and the Frank family rather than the war itself.
These little details showing how much care has gone into designing Where Is Anne Frank is also apparent in the story. Anne (voiced by Emily Carey) behaves and acts like a teenage girl, talking about boys and movie stars, because that is who she was. They were human beings who had ambitions, who gossiped, who had flaws just like us which becomes one of the core messages in the film. This passionate persona is reflected onto Kitty, who puts the contemporary world to rights as she tries to adapt to it. Befriending a gang of outcasts, she aids homeless refugees also failed by society, essentially living vicariously parallel to the diary.
Accompanied by a great soundtrack from Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT, Where Is Anne Frank is a great reinvention of how we tell stories from WW2 without patriotism or war propaganda. Despite the serious themes discussed, the story and animation make it suitable and enjoyable for kids. Educational without lecturing, I learnt more about who Anne Frank was as a person than ever at school, and a healthy reminder of what she stood for.