I think the diary is important mostly as a humanizing element, even though--or particularly because--it's not that astounding on its own. There have certainly been better books written about the holocaust, mostly, I imagine, because those were written as books, but the diary is more subtly horrifying to me because of how ordinary it is.

Did you really not like the movie?
I watched it a couple years ago and I don't remember all the details, but I hated it. I recall disliking everyone except for the younger girl and the guy's soldier buddy and being dissatisfied with the ending. It's a film I might like to rewatch sometime and see if I like it any better, though.

That sounds so unappealing. Does he have short story that I could read just to say I've read Proust?
Honestly, I think if it doesn't sound appealing to you, it's probably not worth it. (Though you might try reading a bit in the library or something, because it didn't sound appealing to me and I wound up loving it anyhow.) Remembrance of Things Past--assuming that the rest of the books follow the model of the first one-- is sort of a huge, dreamy, half-fictional memoir in which the narrator wanders around France and smells the roses (a lot) and... every so often there are references to lesbian affairs?