Based on real events, A HIDDEN LIFE is the story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife, Fani, and children that keeps his spirit alive.Written and Directed by Terrence Malick
Starring August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ulrich Matthes, Maria Simon, Michael Nyqvist, and Bruno Ganz
Release Date - TBD, Cannes premiere
seeing this tonight just to do that, and tell you about it. so what i hear is it's about being anti-nazi, it's about being spiritual in a barbaric world, and apparently it's a return to narrative form so unlike his recent movies, although it sounds exactly like all his movies post-Badlands, and it's close to three hours long. i haven't even watched a trailer and just like whatever
one's familiarity with Malick's cinematic grammar might hinder one's appreciation of Malick's growing skill. this movie is coherent in that we learn about a man and his family, and the man in jail up to his execution. i think the wife once one lines approximately "why are we even made to live" and it fits in perfectly. one's familiarity with Malick's attitude on philosophy might hinder one's appreciation of Malickian philosophy. there is a caterpillar that crawls across a sheet of paper at one point, goats and outdoor house and field chores etc, within Malickian cinematic grammar, at one point two people lift their pressed hands into a magic hour sky. and the protagonist of this movie objected to the nazis based on principle, the church later named him a martyr, he's observed with due reverence, and tenderness is everywhere. that's the kind of movie this is
Malick never fell off. Can't wait for this.
i support Jojo Rabbit by principle, although i'm still waiting to hear the perspective that will lock me into it. i want to think of its message as more than easy. it sounds easy
"Isn't it weird that in 2019, someone still has to make a movie trying to explain to people not to be a Nazi?"
yes. absolutely. and this one should help the kids. it is about childhood friendship. the wholesomeness of kids is a thing of beauty
if you're like, well, what would a film that looked at this from an adult perspective be like. look where you are
overwhelmingly beautiful and moving. held me in a state of contemplative rapture for its entire runtime. malick in top form (i am not of the opinion that he "fell off" so much as the last three films explored a new mode of expression and closer, more immediately personal territory), would put this behind the three im constantly alternating between as my favorite of his (days of heaven, the thin red line, the new world). matt zoller seitz's review is great: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-hidden-life-movie-review-2019
an elemental masterpiece as only malick is capable, my favorite film of the year, and i think this has been an especially strong year.
Found this pretty unbearable. Malick at his most virtuous, prestige-y and dull. Easily his worst for me. It doesn't help that nazi-related stories don't interest me in the slightest but even then Malick's style and this story just fundamentally don't jive at all. Scorsese's Silence executed this same narrative way better. Worst of all is that this is the first time I've felt as if he's just going through the motions behind the camera. When it comes to his recent output I would take the stream-of-consciousness image bath of something like Knight of Cups over this every day.
Had to go really out of my way to see this, thankfully it was worth the 80 mile round trip. So fucking glad I caught this on the big screen, it is downright sumptuous, almost too breathtaking to sustain its running time. The landscapes, the editing, I could not get enough. Only thing is, is it THAT different from any of his other films. I haven't seen Song to Song or the one before that, but stylistically it didn't seem too different from To the Wonder or Tree of Life or Thin Red Line or Days of Heaven. Maybe there was a bit more of a progression in the story than in To the Wonder and assumedly his two subsequent follow ups, just didn't feel like a back to form movie. The movie is still sinking in my opinion quicksand, but boy oh boy was it a visual feast. You either dig Malick style or you don't. The quote at the end was crushing and really brought the film's title home for a dimwit like me.
An interview with the DP (https://www.afcinema.com/Shadowmaker.html?lang=fr) that I found quite funny. "18mm? Eh... Send that long lens back."
Malick's back in his groove- this was very impressive
His style will always get in the way for many (me included, to a degree), but his films are always so beautiful, medium-pushing, and powerfully life-affirming
I rec
Quote from: Something Spanish on January 09, 2020, 04:27:27 PM
Only thing is, is it THAT different from any of his other films. I haven't seen Song to Song or the one before that, but stylistically it didn't seem too different from To the Wonder or Tree of Life or Thin Red Line or Days of Heaven. Maybe there was a bit more of a progression in the story than in To the Wonder and assumedly his two subsequent follow ups, just didn't feel like a back to form movie.
the claim that it's a "return to form" i think came mostly from folks who were alienated by how mercurial his last three or four films were. they mostly seemed to celebrate his return to a period setting and a traditional plot, though there's very little of the latter to speak of. that bit of it is more or less entirely summed up in the synopsis. you should definitely check out Knight of Cups and Song to Song.