A comedy against Nazism

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The story of Anne Frank contains many other stories, and one of them is that of Hermine “Miep” Gies: born in Vienna but raised in a Dutch adoptive family, Miep worked for the firm of Otto Frank (Anne’s father) in Amsterdam when the Nazis entered the city. With the help of some colleagues she hid the Franks and various other people, taking care of them from 1942 to 1944. It was she who retrieved Anna’s diary from hiding and finally returned it to Otto, the only one who survived the concentration camps.

In A small light (on Disney+ from May 2) the protagonist is Miep, played with panache and charisma by Bel Powley (Diary of a teenager, The morning show), joined by her devoted husband Jan (Joe Cole). In the beginning Miep is one party girl who wakes up at lunchtime and has no ambitions or plans, until her adoptive parents confront her with the choice between getting a job or marrying one of her half-siblings. Motivated by her desperation, she manages to convince Otto Frank to hire her, thus meeting her destiny.

Creators and showrunner are the couple Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, historical screenwriters of Grey’s anatomyand in fact not only does the series use a contemporary tone and sensibility, but in certain moments it incorporates stylistic elements taken from the projects of Shonda Rhimes or Amy Sherman-Palladino: rapid and brilliant dialogues, elaborately choreographed movements of the actors, quotations from cliche romantic comedy, all backed by pastel-colored photography and a sophisticated repertoire of costumes (I doubt the historical Miep had such a well-stocked wardrobe).

It is certainly not the first time that the codes of comedy have been used to tell the Nazi horror, but here the stratagem works well in giving substance to what I believe is the fundamental idea, that is to tell the ordinariness of extraordinary times. All the dramatic tension is played out precisely on the fact that, in order to survive, Miep and Jan must continue to live as if nothing had happened. The authors, however, take care to distinguish Miep’s ability to laugh and find happiness everywhere, from the passive complicity of other Dutch people such as her friend Tess, who prefers to continue her privileged life by looking the other way.

Joan Rater and Tony Phelan A small light
Disney+, from May 2nd