A Hidden Life (2019)

Directed by: Terrence Malick | 174 minutes | biography, drama | Actors: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Maria Simon, Karin Neuhäuser, Tobias Moretti, Ulrich Matthes, Matthias Schoenaerts, Franz Rogowski, Karl Markovics, Bruno Ganz, Michael Nyqvist, Wolfgang Michael, Johannes Krisch, Johan Leysen, Martin Wuttke, Waldemar Kobus, Sophie Rois, Alexander Fehling

Director Terrence Malick’s new film has long been announced. It has been known since 2016 that the American film philosopher was working on a war film called ‘Radegund’. However, the completion of the film was repeatedly postponed, but eventually the film, renamed ‘A Hidden Life’, appeared in the competition of the Cannes Film Festival in 2019.

For the first time since ‘The New World’ (2005), Malick uses a real historical figure as his protagonist. But instead of casting American Hollywood stars, this time Malick has gathered a large number of European actors. Central is the conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter, played by August Diehl.

‘A Hidden Life’ begins in 1939. Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) and his wife Fani (Valerie Pachner) live with their three daughters on a farm in the Austrian mountain village of St. Radegund. The family leads a very happy life, but when the Second World War breaks out, suddenly a lot starts to change in the village. The deeply religious Franz is not served by the politics of Hitler and as the only one in his community he dares to oppose Nazism.

While his fellow villagers begin to condemn him and his family for his beliefs, his faith also begins to waver. And then the family threatens to be separated from each other if Franz is called up for military service. All hope seems to be lost, but Franz remains true to his principles at all times. Whatever it costs.

After having delivered a decent series of mediocre films, Terrence Malick finally returns to his roots with his latest film. ‘A Hidden Life’ is not as strong as his earlier films such as ‘Days of Heaven’ (1978) or ‘The Thin Red Line’ (1998), but is a return to these works stylistically and thematically. Finally, Malick offers a coherent story again. No existential posturing, but an actual mature plot. While many war films tend to mainly depict the bloodshed and battlefields, there are also stories that unfold without all that violence. ‘A Hidden Life’ tells just such a story. The focus in the film is mainly on the characters and their inner struggles. August Diehl and Valerie Pachner are therefore undoubtedly the suitable choices as protagonists. Both actors have a lot of charisma, which often makes their trials extra hard. As a viewer you constantly hope that they will find their happiness again.

However, ‘A Hidden Life’ is not free of weaknesses. The odd decision to have many of the actors speak both German and English is very confusing. If it is important for the plot, the actors speak English. But if there is spoken in the background, then suddenly it concerns German. It is unclear exactly why Malick went for this decision. He may have compromised with the film studio because of the American audience. Either way, it’s a distracting choice. The film is also at least 30 minutes too long. Visually, the film is always a feast for the eyes, but this cannot compensate for the fact that the film is just a bit too long at 174 minutes. The long-delayed ‘A Hidden Life’ is not flawless, but there is an argument to be made that the film, with all its ambition, is the best Terrence Malick film in years.