A Hidden Life (2019)
January 10, 2020 1:38 PM - Subscribe
Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter refuses to fight in the German army or swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler in WWII. Directed by Terrence Malick, based on a true story.
The title is taken from the end of Middlemarch by George Eliot, presented onscreen at the end of the film:
The title is taken from the end of Middlemarch by George Eliot, presented onscreen at the end of the film:
...the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
This was my first Malick movie so perhaps I'm just awed by the wide-angle shots, but I loved this. Beautiful and terrible.
posted by adrianhon at 3:13 AM on January 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by adrianhon at 3:13 AM on January 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
This is a GREAT lucky choice for first Malick, adrianhon! It's a return to form in focus and subject, amplified by his 21st century innovations in imagery (that swooping panoramic super subjective fisheye-ish lens). Without the baffling experimental phase around his Tree of Life period.
posted by Harry Caul at 10:48 AM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Harry Caul at 10:48 AM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
I attended a retreat last year led by a Dominican priest. This movie was just beginning limited release and he had found a way to see it twice. He strongly recommended it, and we finally caught it last night (HBO Max as it now). Just superb. Beautifully shot, superb acting.
posted by jquinby at 6:18 AM on October 10, 2020
posted by jquinby at 6:18 AM on October 10, 2020
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posted by gryftir at 7:01 PM on January 10, 2020 [1 favorite]