Review: A Hidden Life
A Hidden Life, directed by Terrence Malick, tells the tale of Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), an Austrian farmer living a content life with his wife Franziska (Valerie Pachner) and his three daughters. But when war breaks out and everyone must swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, Franz refuses seeing as swearing allegiance goes against his morals. Now Franz must continue to stand true to what he believes in no matter the cost.
Once upon a time, whenever there was a new Terrence Malick film it’s a huge event for cinephiles. The famously shy director would release a new film incredibly sparsely over the course of his fifty year career, making only ten films as of this review. Lately though he’s been very busy, cranking out a new film almost every year, making his films a little less special every time. Each of his films nowadays has something to expect: sweeping, grand, dreamlike visuals to cover up an incomprehensible and muddled message.
A Hidden Life, his latest film, is different in the sense that it’s the first one to have an actual story now since The New World back in 2005. While having an actual story makes this film a lot easier to watch compared to most of Malick’s other films, it still can’t help itself but indulge in some pretentious film-making for three hours.
Being that this has an actual story, the story itself is very interesting. Based on the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, Malick does a great job portraying the man in a more personal level. August Diehl gives a great performance in the lead role, making Franz incredibly relatable. The rest of the cast was also incredibly good in their roles and the chemistry between Diehl and Valerie Pachner really makes you believe the two are in love.
As with every Malick film, the visuals are outstanding. Even when Malick is not collaborating with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the camera work is still absolutely gorgeous to look at. Every frame is purposeful and incredibly dreamlike, cementing Malick’s status as one of the best visual directors working today. The score from James Newton Howard was great as well; the music felt right where it belonged and helped deliver the emotions the scene required the audience to feel.
On a technical level this film is a work of art, but pretty imagery alone does not make a great film for me. Despite being easier to watch thanks to its interesting story and relatable characters, the film’s three hour run-time is just too much. There were plenty of scenes that dragged like crazy, making this film a slog to sit through. The dialogue and writing is also quintessentially Malick. Like many of his past films, nobody speaks like a real person; everyone speaks, or in some cases whisper, to each other in poetic prose that don’t make much sense at times. Call me a filthy casual if you want, but I prefer movies where people talk like actual people.
Overall despite its flaws I did enjoy this film better than Malick’s previous films since 2011’s The Tree of Life. It’s got an interesting story but it’s still a Terrence Malick film, so take that as you will. Fans of the reclusive auteur will still like this film as many others will find this incredibly pretentious. As for me personally I’m glad to have seen this film, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it again. If you can stomach the three hour run-time check it out and see for yourself.
Final Verdict: 6/10