‘A Small Light’ rave reviews: Bel Powley is ‘phenomenal’ in ‘heartbreaking’ limited series

On May 1, 2023, National Geographic premieres “A Small Light,” which centers on the real life story of Miep Gies. The limited series stars Bel Powley as the often unsung hero that hides Anne Frank and her family during the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam. The limited series opened to rave reviews, holding fresh at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The ensemble cast includes Liev Schreiber, Joe Cole, Billie Boullet, Ashley Brooke, and Amira Casar. Read our full review round-up below. 

The series pilot and “Welcome to Switzerland” premiere on NatGeo May 1, with two new episodes airing weekly. Each can be streamed the next day on Hulu and Disney+.

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SEE ‘A Small Light’: Nat Geo series heralds heroes who hid Anne Frank and family

Maggie Lovitt of Collider writes, “The series is blatant in its condemnation of people who reap the benefits of prejudice and hatred, blindly focused on their own small joys and creature comforts. Therein lies why there is a certain degree of unsteadiness deeply embedded in the harrowing story that unfolds.” She adds, “Miep Gies’ (Powley) story unravels in a non-linear fashion throughout ‘A Small Light,’ and sometimes, in hindsight, the audience is able to see that the facts are occasionally provided by unreliable narrators, often through the lens of Anne Frank’s (Boullet) unwavering optimism. Powley does well at playing Miep as a doe-eyed, yet head-strong woman who is forced to grow up in an unimaginable time.” Lovitt concludes, “’A Small Light’ is a beautiful and heartbreaking reminder of what ‘helpers’ are capable of doing.”

Danielle Solzman of Solzy at the Movies says, “I would not recommend watching this series as a binge. What I would do is watch a few episodes at a time. National Geographic is smart to be rolling out two episodes a week. One, it leaves zero episodes hanging prior to the end of Emmy nomination deadline and rightfully so because Bel Powley is phenomenal in her performance. Meanwhile, Liev Schreiber disappears into the role of Otto Frank. This is not Schreiber’s first time portraying a Holocaust survivor, having previously portrayed Zus Bielski in 2008’s ‘Defiance.’ But still, every time he’s on screen, I did not feel like I was watching Schreiber but Otto Frank himself.” 

SEE Miep Gies is poised to become the face of Holocaust resistance with ‘A Small Light’

Matt Roush of TV Insider praises the drama, noting, that the cast is excellent. He adds, “We all know how it’s going to end, which doesn’t make the dramatization of the raid in August 1944 any easier to watch or the sorrow any easier to bear when Otto returns after the liberation as the sole survivor. Miep is resolute in her stubborn belief that she could have done more.” Roush concludes, “History tells us that saving young Anne’s diary was miracle enough.”

Sarah Jane of Austin Chronicle applauds the limited series, noting, “’A Small Light’ depicts Miep a party girl, with no direction in life. Forced by her adoptive parents (she was originally from Austria) to stop being shiftless, she lands a job with Otto Frank, a German immigrant who had moved with his family to Amsterdam to open an office of the company he worked for, Opekta. He, of course, was also fleeing to escape the rise of the Nazis, but when the Germans invade he asks Miep to hide him and his family: Without hesitation, she says yes.” Jane adds, “The creators said they didn’t want to ‘play the end,’ meaning, yes, everyone knows what happens to the Franks in the end, but they are telling the story about the events that lead up to the tragedy. When asked about how to balance the tone of the show (as there are definitely moments of humor shown), the creators said what happened in the Annex has been ‘frozen in history.’ They wanted to depict the story showing that everyone involved weren’t living a reverent life: they were just living life, period.”

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