A Small Light
2023 · 1 season · 8 episodes · Drama, War & Politics
Created by Joan Rater, Tony Phelan
“Risk everything.”
Miep Gies didn't hesitate when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne's Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.
Why it's worth watching
Inspiring true story of Miep Gies and others who risked everything to hide Anne Frank's family during the Holocaust; portrays quiet heroism, sacrifice, and moral courage in the darkest circumstances.
What it praises
Sacrifice, moral integrity, protection of the vulnerable, courage in the face of evil, persistence of hope and human dignity, faith through persecution.
For discernment
This is a moving and morally serious true story — Miep Gies and her husband Jan risking everything to shelter the Franks — that honors quiet, costly heroism, the protection of the vulnerable, and courage against real evil, and it treats faith with reverence. A believer should be ready for a few mature intrusions: the married Miep and Jan are shown in an intimate scene that clearly implies sex (no nudity shown), a couple makes out at length in the background of an early scene, there is a bathtub scene with sexual innuendo, and God's name is taken in vain multiple times. Early episodes also show Miep enjoying dancing and drinking with friends, and the series is deliberately, intensely emotional given its subject. The marital intimacy is between husband and wife, and the overall trajectory is toward sacrifice and hope, making this well worth the time for older teens and adults who can weigh the scattered coarse moments against a genuinely edifying and true account.
- SexualityAn implied (unshown) sex scene between married spouses Miep and Jan, a lengthy background make-out, and a bathtub scene with sexual innuendo.
- LanguageGod's name is taken in vain multiple times.
- SubstancesMiep is shown enjoying dancing and drinking with friends in early episodes.
- NoteEmotionally intense throughout, including a tense Nazi checkpoint sequence and a Holocaust-hiding premise that grows harrowing.
Cast
Bel Powley
Miep Gies
Joe Cole
Jan Gies
Liev Schreiber
Otto Frank
Amira Casar
Edith Frank
Billie Boullet
Anne Frank
Ashley Brooke
Margot Frank
Ian McElhinney
Johannes Kleiman
Sally Messham
Bep Voskuijl
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