I'm a Terrence Malick fan, partially because his movies really touch me but also because I have happened to miss his last couple outings which were, by many accounts, less than stellar. "Tree of Life" was one of the first arthouse films I saw in the theater while attending film school so it has a special place in my heart into which I was hoping "A Hidden Life' would be able to find its way.
As I heard the first few opinions begin to leak out about "A Hidden Life" I was encouraged but not excited because some of those sources were Christian magazines which have frequently led me astray in the past (ex. "Hacksaw Ridge"). It turns out that "A Hidden Life" is a film right up my alley and holds one of my top spots of 2019.
"A Hidden Life" is about a man named Franz (August Diehl, "Inglourious Basterds") and his wife Fani (Valerie Pachner) who live in Austria in the foothills of the Alps. They are farmers and spend most of their hard lives tending fields, animals, and children. It is an idyllic life in many ways and the epitome of the word pastoral. The mountains, fields, and sky are so beautiful that even a less practiced director could capture some of the most stunningly gorgeous footage you've ever seen so rest assured when Terrence Malick ("Badlands") points his camera their way, the views are even more lovely and sublime.
With Germany on the path to war, Franz is conscripted into the military and is returned home, after France has been captured, along with all the other farmers to continue food production. When he arrives, the village and his wife are happy to have him home but there is a new problem for them all. His time in the war has left Franz disillusioned with Germany's campaign, their attitude toward Jews, and a commitment to not aid in the war effort. This makes him a variety of enemies from the town's mayor, to the collectors for the veteran's fund, to the rest of the village who have all learned of his refusal during this extremely hard time. Eventually, he is called up to war again, only this time he will refuse to pledge his allegiance to Hitler. What will the Germans so with him after that betrayal?
It really is a pretty simple story and one for which, in any other hands, I would sneer at a 3 hour runtime as being indulgent. In fact, I am sure many will consider the runtime of this film a little extreme. Personally, I do not agree with this assessment. Certainly, the film is long but the length is earned by tight but deep focus on the central conflict of the story. If I felt that the inner monologues, conversations, and threats of violence never went anywhere, never moved Franz's heart, then I would agree but every one of these things feels true to life and has the weight of Life or Death hanging in the balance. This focus on the inner struggle is what makes the film stand out for me. To someone who is looking for the outward struggle, it will appear as if nothing much changes from scene to scene of this film.
Franz spends long periods of time soliloquizing to himself, wandering the prison yard, sitting in his cell, and having discussions with lawyers and army officials. Anyone who has spent years laboring over a decision, vacillating between one option and another, one belief and another doubt, or one easy path and one hard but honorable one will understand that the changes in belief, submissions to fate, returns to faith, and real grappling with doubt are subtle variations that may rise and fall from single sentences uttered by others. Great shifts in ways of thinking and hoping can slide abruptly like ice shelves collapsing into the ocean yet the only outside indication of this is on a person's face.
Once again, we find ourselves in luck that we are in the hands of a master who tapped August Diehl for the role of Franz. Both he and Valerie Pachner turn in nuanced and forceful performances which break your heart and soul as the prospect of evil and its effect on individuals and communities becomes more apparent and harsh. Yet, these performances lift your soul even as they seem to dig a grave ever deeper for your despair to find rest within. In the midst of the darkness there are small mercies, though maybe not as frequently as we might hope or desire.
For me, personally, I found myself asking myself hard questions about the state of the world, the evil being done in it, and how little I do to fight against it. All of the ways that I am complicit in the hurt or deaths of others rise up in my heart as I watch this film and I find myself praying that someday I can do more than hear about a tragedy and post on Facebook or give a couple bucks toward relief. The other thing this film did was sober me for the day when things in my life will not be this easy, when I will have real consequences to the stands I make rather simply enduring a few jokes here and there, online.
"A Hidden Life" has stuck with me because Malick has found a way to relate the interior struggles of someone who holds convictions that are not simply parsed. It doesn't let Franz off the hook nor does it offer him some easy salivation or meaning that makes it all worth it.
It doesn't hide from the pain or the beauty of a spiritual struggle even in an industry that typically tries to hide one or the other from view.
It doesn't present a rose colored outlook on the Christian life and the rewards and prosperity which God has in store for the faithful like many Christian films but it also doesn't make all Christians look like bigots and hard hearted individuals who don't care about anyone who is different from themselves. It actually portrays Franz the way I prefer; as a human with conviction, weaknesses, doubts, fears, and faith that are swirling around in his head as he walks through life, just trying to scrape out some happiness.
I saw myself in this film. What else is there to say except that?
As I heard the first few opinions begin to leak out about "A Hidden Life" I was encouraged but not excited because some of those sources were Christian magazines which have frequently led me astray in the past (ex. "Hacksaw Ridge"). It turns out that "A Hidden Life" is a film right up my alley and holds one of my top spots of 2019.
"A Hidden Life" is about a man named Franz (August Diehl, "Inglourious Basterds") and his wife Fani (Valerie Pachner) who live in Austria in the foothills of the Alps. They are farmers and spend most of their hard lives tending fields, animals, and children. It is an idyllic life in many ways and the epitome of the word pastoral. The mountains, fields, and sky are so beautiful that even a less practiced director could capture some of the most stunningly gorgeous footage you've ever seen so rest assured when Terrence Malick ("Badlands") points his camera their way, the views are even more lovely and sublime.
With Germany on the path to war, Franz is conscripted into the military and is returned home, after France has been captured, along with all the other farmers to continue food production. When he arrives, the village and his wife are happy to have him home but there is a new problem for them all. His time in the war has left Franz disillusioned with Germany's campaign, their attitude toward Jews, and a commitment to not aid in the war effort. This makes him a variety of enemies from the town's mayor, to the collectors for the veteran's fund, to the rest of the village who have all learned of his refusal during this extremely hard time. Eventually, he is called up to war again, only this time he will refuse to pledge his allegiance to Hitler. What will the Germans so with him after that betrayal?
It really is a pretty simple story and one for which, in any other hands, I would sneer at a 3 hour runtime as being indulgent. In fact, I am sure many will consider the runtime of this film a little extreme. Personally, I do not agree with this assessment. Certainly, the film is long but the length is earned by tight but deep focus on the central conflict of the story. If I felt that the inner monologues, conversations, and threats of violence never went anywhere, never moved Franz's heart, then I would agree but every one of these things feels true to life and has the weight of Life or Death hanging in the balance. This focus on the inner struggle is what makes the film stand out for me. To someone who is looking for the outward struggle, it will appear as if nothing much changes from scene to scene of this film.
Franz spends long periods of time soliloquizing to himself, wandering the prison yard, sitting in his cell, and having discussions with lawyers and army officials. Anyone who has spent years laboring over a decision, vacillating between one option and another, one belief and another doubt, or one easy path and one hard but honorable one will understand that the changes in belief, submissions to fate, returns to faith, and real grappling with doubt are subtle variations that may rise and fall from single sentences uttered by others. Great shifts in ways of thinking and hoping can slide abruptly like ice shelves collapsing into the ocean yet the only outside indication of this is on a person's face.
Once again, we find ourselves in luck that we are in the hands of a master who tapped August Diehl for the role of Franz. Both he and Valerie Pachner turn in nuanced and forceful performances which break your heart and soul as the prospect of evil and its effect on individuals and communities becomes more apparent and harsh. Yet, these performances lift your soul even as they seem to dig a grave ever deeper for your despair to find rest within. In the midst of the darkness there are small mercies, though maybe not as frequently as we might hope or desire.
For me, personally, I found myself asking myself hard questions about the state of the world, the evil being done in it, and how little I do to fight against it. All of the ways that I am complicit in the hurt or deaths of others rise up in my heart as I watch this film and I find myself praying that someday I can do more than hear about a tragedy and post on Facebook or give a couple bucks toward relief. The other thing this film did was sober me for the day when things in my life will not be this easy, when I will have real consequences to the stands I make rather simply enduring a few jokes here and there, online.
"A Hidden Life" has stuck with me because Malick has found a way to relate the interior struggles of someone who holds convictions that are not simply parsed. It doesn't let Franz off the hook nor does it offer him some easy salivation or meaning that makes it all worth it.
It doesn't hide from the pain or the beauty of a spiritual struggle even in an industry that typically tries to hide one or the other from view.
It doesn't present a rose colored outlook on the Christian life and the rewards and prosperity which God has in store for the faithful like many Christian films but it also doesn't make all Christians look like bigots and hard hearted individuals who don't care about anyone who is different from themselves. It actually portrays Franz the way I prefer; as a human with conviction, weaknesses, doubts, fears, and faith that are swirling around in his head as he walks through life, just trying to scrape out some happiness.
I saw myself in this film. What else is there to say except that?