Can we just appreciate the fact that the person who played the infamous Nazi from Inglorious Basterds is now playing the infamous Anti-Nazi in A Hidden Life ? :8ball:
A Hidden Life is an epic poem written on postcards because the images are very lush but the story is abbreviated. Basically, Terrence Malick is a better cinematographer than he is a director (don't come @ me), because this pseudo-intellectual outing drags like chains around your ankles when you're pacing in your prison cell.
The film is the true story of an Austrian conscientious objector in World War II and if that doesn't sound like enough to base a 3-hour biopic on, it isn't. (And why would Malick choose to film the German / Austrian actors in English but the background conversations in German?)
The soundtrack is as gorgeous as the images and the film does raise an interesting question (Should one swear allegiance to an evil leader to avoid putting one's family at risk?) but you could listen to the music on Spotify while talking about morality vs practicality over drinks and that would be 3 hours better spent than those lost watching this pretentious postcard.
This would have been a terrific 90-minute or two-hour movie. But at three hours, it's far too bloated with footage that matters not at all, and the terrific visuals can't hide the fact that the extended run time results not in more insights, but in a meandering self-indulgence that practically screams out to be taken Very Seriously. Which is unfortunate since it's a serious subject that deserves serious consideration, but Malick finds a way to be his own worst enemy here. In the end, my hopes for another permanent addition to my film library were dashed.
A touching and delicate period drama set in rural Austria during WWII, full of breathtaking views and simple life portraits. It’s easy to get on the nose considering the subject matter, but I thought it reached a good balance between realism and drama. My only complaint is that it’s way too long-winded and repetitive for a three-hour movie. I understand that the pacing needs to be on the slower side to convey the right mood, but two hours would have been more than enough.
The world would be a way better place if more Franzes live in it.
A meditation on morality and faith; a film of unparalleled sublimity
Legendary director Terrence Malick's films are about the search for transcendence in a compromised and often evil world, and, telling the true story of the Austrian conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler, A Hidden Life is no different, asking questions such as should one do what one knows to be morally right, even when it accomplishes nothing except the suffering of one's self and family; what is the value of sacrifice if it goes unknown; how far can principals be invoked in such a situation; should spiritual purity be the supreme arbitrator of one's conscience; is one obliged to condemn evil even if that condemnation is irrelevant? Pretty light stuff all round, really. Winner of both the Prix François Chalais and the Prix du Jury Œcuménique at Cannes, the film was screened at the Vatican Film Library in December 2019, with Malick making an ultra-rare public appearance. And how good is A Hidden Life? Very, very, very good. Not quite Thin Red Line/Tree of Life good, but certainly Badlands/Days of Heaven/New World good. This is cinema at its most sublimely pious, a supremely talented master-auteur operating at the height of his not inconsiderable powers.
For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/Y2f47
Malick's most simple, straightforward story since Days of Heaven. Now, if you hated The Tree of Life because nothing happened, then you are going to hate this one too.
The scenes are beautiful and the score is great but it needed better direction. That's the problem with Malick in general.
In the past he has been bailed out by worldclass actors but he didn't have that luxury here. That's not a knock on the actors, this cast just needed direction to bring out their best. It's just too raw, it often felt like I was seeing someone unsure of what they were supposed to be doing in a scene.
Review by Matthew Luke BradyBlockedParent2019-11-26T21:19:14Z
LIFF33 2019 #3
“If God gives us free will, we are responsible for what we do or what we fail to do.”
Ambitious, but strangely simple.
A true and powerful story told in a very Malick way. Based on letters written in Austria during Hitler’s early reigns; ‘A Hidden Life’ follows a husband and wife objecting the Nazi party - which unfortunately leads to the husbands imprisonment and his wife being persecuted by villagers, all friends and neighbours for decades - all become enemies.
The camera work and cinematography were all excellent, of course with it being a Terrance Malick movie. Free flowing camera movement that often drifts around the actors and looms over these people's lives - often getting up close and personal. There are some powerhouse performances from everyone as Malick effectively lets the actors work freely by improvising on the spot and being present in the moment. So we get to experience Franz and his wife Franziska (along with their children) living in the present and how beautifully poetic it can be. So we can briefly live the life of these people before the horrors of war ruin everything. The little moments we take for granted.
Apparently whenever an actor gets dry on camera, Malick would gently push them forward and tell them to keep going - in terms of activity and discovering new things while losing a train of thought and reverie in character. I think this is the reason why the actors always give such raw and natural performances. I would imagine it also helps them develop and personally attach themselves to the character in bolder lengths, because they can never do wrong.
Although it didn’t need to be three hours long and could have easily been 2 hours. I had issues with how long the movie stayed in one setting, as it dragged the pacing down a bit. I must admit there was a point where I nearly dozed off, not because it was boring, but prior to watching I had a long day that pretty much drained me and the movie at times didn’t help. However there was a point mid way through where the movie woke me up, which is incredibly rare for an art house movie.
I’ll give Malick credit, nobody makes movies like he does. Love it or hate it, but no other director has come close to finding the inner heart and soul in nature that’s with human beings. I think it’s easy to look at his work and label them as “pretentious”. His approach to narration is incredibly jumbled, but more truthful than movie dialogue, because we don’t mean what we say most of the time; a rambling mess. I often find the people who dismiss him and think they know about ‘keeping it real’, are the pretentious ones.
The unique thing about this movie and his previous work, when the movie is over you start to notice nature and I really do mean notice nature - something you would have never done before. Such as: grass and leaves dancing in the wind, natural light, the warmth of the sun touching your skin, and the smell of nature. It’s incredibly compelling how a movie can activate my senses that I haven’t experience in a very long time, dating back to childhood.
“Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything.”
Overall rating: A welcome return to form.