A Small Light, Disney Plus — the story of the woman who hid Anne Frank

It’s 1933 and nobody expects much of twentysomething Miep. Not her mother, who thinks her layabout daughter will struggle to find a better prospect for a husband than her own adoptive brother. Not her friends, nor any men, who see her as a good-time girl. Not her employer, who hires her to be his secretary with reservations after she comes to him with a barren CV.

And yet, almost a decade later, this seemingly unremarkable young woman proves herself capable of the most remarkable courage, compassion and discretion. As the Nazis roll into Amsterdam, Miep vows to hide her Jewish boss, Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber), his family and four others.

While The Diary of Anne Frank has given several generations a window into the annex above the office at Prinsengracht 263, less is known about the efforts of the protector downstairs who harboured the fugitives for two years (with the help of a few trusted employees). A Small Light, an affecting but affirming eight-part mini-series on Disney Plus, tells the true story of the rare, radiant humanity Miep Gies provided in the midst of inhuman cruelty.

Miep is played beautifully by the English actress Bel Powley. Through her touching affection for the Franks (that goes beyond a sense of general moral rectitude) and her slightly flustered, good-humoured brand of heroism, she brings plenty of heart and soul to a show that largely remains the right side of maudlin sentiment. She brings guts too. At no point does her resolve weaken, despite the toll that her secret, selfless actions take on her friendships, her mental state and her marriage to resistance activist Jan (Joe Cole).

Unlike the recently released Transatlantic on Netflix — which similarly revolves around endeavours to save Jewish people from the Nazis — A Small Light doesn’t mythologise an already extraordinary tale. Despite a misleadingly melodramatic trailer, the series is careful to emphasise the revealing or intimate moments between the terror, bravery and brutality. Church bells signal that time moves on outside the attic while it remains suspended within; Hanukkah candles flicker defiantly during dark times; an offhand antisemitic comment is made by a young woman desensitised to such rhetoric. Trepidation pervades the attic and stalks Miep, but so too does everyday mundanity, interpersonal friction and the occasional spark of joy.

All this, combined with a lively, modern-sounding script, serve to make the past feel almost pliable — as if the tragic fate of the real-life figures might not yet be sealed. That we feel so immersed only makes what’s to come harder to bear, but we’re compelled to keep watching. As Otto Frank says, “All these stories from the past are showing us how to look forward.”

★★★★☆

First two episodes on Disney Plus now with new episodes released weekly; on Hulu in the US