Klein Dorrit

A charming departure from the classic Ondra-Lamač-Film production. In Charles Dickens' delightful adaptation of his two-part social criticism novel of 1855-1857, Anny becomes the Madonna of all the poor and needy. She, of course, cares most about her father in the debtors' prison, but she also has her own private desires... The most perfect scene is the birthday preparation scene when she sings the most tender lullaby in film history to the orphans. Mathias Wieman may not have been one of her best partners, but in that year of 1934, Hilde Hildebrand, twice her opponent made up for everything. Other adaptations of note include a Czech production from 1967 and a BBC miniseries from 2008. (14/02/2009)