Name: My Best Friend Anne Frank
Genre: History, War, Drama
Released: 2021-10-07T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Josephine Arendsen, Aiko Beemsterboer, Roeland Fernhout, Hans Peterson, Rein Hofman

The first time I saw My Best Friend Anne Frank, I was struck by a single image: two girls playing in an attic, their laughter muffled but unmistakable. It’s a scene that feels both ordinary and extraordinary—ordinary because it’s the kind of moment any child might share with a friend, extraordinary because we know the world outside those walls is anything but safe. Ben Sombogaart’s 2021 Dutch drama doesn’t just retell the story of Anne Frank; it reframes it through the eyes of her childhood friend Hannah Goslar, offering a perspective that feels fresh even as it treads well-worn historical ground.

Based on Alison Leslie Gold’s Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend, the film is the first Dutch cinema production to tackle Anne Frank’s life, and it does so with a focus on friendship rather than martyrdom. Josephine Arendsen, as Hannah, carries the emotional weight of the story with quiet intensity, while Aiko Beemsterboer brings a spark of mischief and warmth to Anne. The casting is deliberate—these aren’t icons; they’re girls trying to live normal lives under impossible circumstances.

Sombogaart’s direction is unshowy but effective, favoring natural light and tight compositions that emphasize the claustrophobia of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. When Hannah and Anne are together, the camera lingers on their faces, capturing the nuances of their bond—shared secrets, stolen moments of joy, and the underlying fear that never quite leaves them. The film’s pacing in this first half is deliberate, but it occasionally drags, lingering too long on moments of quiet tension that don’t always serve the narrative.

The real power of My Best Friend Anne Frank comes in its second act, when Hannah is deported to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and unexpectedly reunites with Anne. This isn’t the Anne Frank we’ve seen in diaries or adaptations; she’s emaciated, her voice barely a whisper. The reunion scene is shot with stark simplicity: no swelling music, no grand gestures, just two women recognizing each other across a chasm of suffering. It’s a moment that lingers long after the credits roll, a testament to both Sombogaart’s restraint and Arendsen’s and Beemsterboer’s performances.

The supporting cast is hit-or-miss. Roeland Fernhout as Hannah’s father brings a quiet dignity to his role, while Hans Peterson’s portrayal of the driver Heinz feels underdeveloped. The German soldiers, particularly Joep Paddenburg, come across as one-dimensional villains, lacking the nuance that might have made their roles more compelling.

The film’s historical setting is meticulously crafted, with production design that immerses the viewer in 1940s Amsterdam and Bergen-Belsen. Principal photography was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the finished product doesn’t show any glaring gaps—though some exterior shots of the camp feel eerily artificial.

My Best Friend Anne Frank is a film for those who want to see history through a personal lens. It’s not a grand historical epic; it’s an intimate character study, one that asks us to remember not just Anne Frank, but also the people who loved her. The film won the Golden Film award in October 2021 after selling 100,000 tickets, and while its critical reception has been mixed, it’s a work that deserves attention for its emotional honesty.

The film’s themes of friendship, resilience, and the indelible marks left by war are handled with sensitivity. Hannah’s perspective allows for a different kind of narrative, one that doesn’t focus solely on Anne’s fate but also on the broader impact of the Holocaust on those who survived. This shift in focus is both its strength and its weakness; while it provides a fresh angle, it sometimes feels like the film is trying to do too much, spreading itself thin across multiple emotional beats.

Sombogaart’s choice to tell the story from Hannah’s point of view is a bold one. It allows for moments of levity and normalcy that might otherwise be absent in a more traditional historical drama. The girls’ friendship is the heart of the film, and Arendsen and Beemsterboer’s chemistry is palpable. Their performances anchor the film, making it easy to forget that this is a story we’ve heard before.

That said, the film isn’t without its flaws. The pacing in the first half can feel sluggish, and some of the supporting characters are underdeveloped. The German soldiers, in particular, come across as caricatures rather than fully realized individuals. This is a missed opportunity, as a more nuanced portrayal of the enemy could have added depth to the story.

The film’s production values are high, with attention to detail in costumes and set design that transport the viewer back in time. The use of natural light and tight compositions creates a sense of intimacy, drawing the audience closer to the characters and their struggles. However, some of the exterior shots of Bergen-Belsen feel staged, lacking the authenticity that might have been achieved with more practical locations.

My Best Friend Anne Frank is a film that will resonate most with those who are already familiar with Anne Frank’s story. It offers a different perspective but doesn’t stray too far from the well-trodden path. For newcomers to the subject, it might feel like a missed opportunity to explore the broader historical context in more depth.

In the end, My Best Friend Anne Frank succeeds where so many historical dramas fail: it refuses to sentimentalize its subjects or sanitize their suffering. It’s a film that asks us to remember not just the victims of the Holocaust but also the survivors, those who carried the weight of their experiences long after the war ended.