A Hidden Life reviewed by Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode reviews A Hidden Life. During World War II, Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter refuses to fight for the Nazis, opening him up to the threat of execution for treason.
Please tell us what you think of the film -- or Mark’s review of the film. We love to include your views on the show every Friday.
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[@joeg19]

Ah yes, Prince of Cups and On Song

[@Andreytsvetkov33]

thanks for your comment, It made my day :d

[@Lee_Forre]

Yes, yes, right up there with Malick's other great films A New Wonder and Bad Red Line..

[@mase15]

@@Lee_Forre how does one not appreciate a thin red line? Brilliant film 🎥

[@natecoet3291]

Ahahah excellent

[@tango31313]

Big tree life was pretty good too

[@fouadenglish2010]

After 3 days since I watched the movie, I am still thinking of it. Personally what I learnt is that life is never & should never be taken for granted. There are situations out there when it becomes criminal to even think of compromise as those killed by the Nazis cannot be reduced to dust, least of animals. The principal character could (though not quite easily) pronounce allegiance to Hitler & get a non-combatant position & thus save his life & return home to his loved ones. But given his non-alienated state of mind, he simply refuses. Zero compromise with the unethical. He made me literally cry as a result of his clean sense of purpose, that solidly-grounded determination to never be involved in evil act.... what a powerful message! His wife too is simply heavenly. No coercion, a straightforward alliance with the just... wow...

[@bebaguette766]

To me he had an absolutely flawless run up to the Tree of Life, then the three following ranged from okay to pretty bad. A Hidden Life is back to form and my favorite film of the year. What an incredible year 2019 was.

[@Lee_Forre]

I liked Song to Song. I think it was the best of the recent three. The first 15 mins of Hidden Life had me in tears. I'm not religious, but his films just hit a spot that renders me in tears.

[@bebaguette766]

His films have a similar effect on me, they just overwhelm me. Tree of Life had a few scenes that were ripped straight out of my life (not the dinosaur), my parents' lives, my friends' lives, ad not just unimportant moments but key moments. Hidden Life, probably my third favorite of his, just somehow captures spirituality and humanity like almost no other film I've ever seen. I also enjoy his three least liked ones, although considerably less than his great work.

[@Lee_Forre]

@@bebaguette766 Likewise regarding Tree Of Life. I found my self an emotional mess during that film as well. If you simply surrender yourself to his films, there is a spell you are under which is not comparable to other films. As an American, Hidden Life comes at an important junction. This film is a shot across the bow of democracy as a warning call to all free countries. What happened in Germany can happen anywhere. The main question is can we be as brave as Frans Jaegersteter was? This film is an inspiration and example of the difficulties of doing the right thing.

[@nicheman3612]

I really liked knight of cups but was very disappointed with this film. It's been a few months since I saw it but I recollect it being neither fish nor fowl in terms of being a narrative film or one of his stream-of-consciousness experimental films.

[@mainchannel1566]

I just realized that's the guy from the bar scene in "Inglourious Basterds" that figures out Michael Fassbender isn't German.

[@Patrick-jj5nh]

August Diehl, he's also brilliant in The Counterfeiters (2007) If Not Us, Who (2011) and The Young Karl Marx (2017)

[@dogmafilm33]

@@Patrick-jj5nh also good in Mausmauxchenstill

[@JonJonJonJonJonJonJonJon]

By all means captain

[@Lee_Forre]

The first 15 mins had me in tears. I am not religious, but I do worship at the church of Malick. His films, if you simply surrender yourself to it, there is nothing like his cinema. Thin Red Line and Badlands are two of my favorite films of all-time. Thin Red Line is one of the greatest, original war films ever made. Cheers to Malick's return

[@hipsterelephant2660]

(Walt Disney Pictures - Dir: Terrence Mallick) That has to be the weirdest combination of words together since "Walt Disney Pictures Presents - a film by David Lynch"

[@csjcsj2906]

Hipster Elephant The IMAX version of his 2016 documentary “Voyage of Time” (my favorite Malick content) is rated G, so there’s that.

[@hipsterelephant2660]

and was a damn fine documentary too

[@cristinapopescu3819]

So disrespectful

[@hipsterelephant2660]

@@cristinapopescu3819 how is that disrespectful?

[@cristinapopescu3819]

@@hipsterelephant2660 sorry commented on the wrong comment; i meant it on the comment where he mistook the names of the movies

[@MoeBlackArctander]

How The New World isn’t universally considered an absolute masterpiece is beyond me. Ev-er-y-thing from Badlands till Tree of Life is complete artistic divinity.

[@calvinlaw7790]

The music in this is gorgeous. Saw this last year at the BFI film festival. Slow but rewarding. Two leads are extraordinary.

[@elisagriffith5411]

Slow? Must be personal thing

[@alexm2136]

@@elisagriffith5411 so slow

[@aztro4010]

This film has to be a major comeback for Malick as a filmmaker, a largely forgotten 2019 masterpiece.

[@aderemiporsche]

The soundtrack from that clip is wonderfully enchanting.

[@maryfroggatt4910]

August Diehl. Superb actor.

[@BigBeeBeeSting]

After watching it I realized that it's in 3 acts, his life in the hamlet and then his trial with the last act being his preparation for death. The holocaust is in the background of this film although never mentioned and it permiates everything which does not mean it's as powerful as a perfume advert . The beauty of nature depicted is in some ways more important than the actors This is a quiet yet powerful film and no, there is not too much music. Wonderful film.

[@reecemesser]

It was the first film that ever made me cry and I'm 25 years old.

[@carlospadinmartinez]

Me too, kid... Me too

[@KainedbutAble123]

I hope Mark meant up to and including Thin Red Line. That film is a total masterpiece.

[@stuco81]

I'm sure I've heard Kermode speak positively about The Thin Red Line previously.

[@Lee_Forre]

One of the greatest war films of all time

[@swamisalami3000]

That was Malick at his peak. Tree of life is alos beautiful. To the wonder, Song to Song and Cups are pretty bad

[@Ray89135]

Excellent cinematography, main drawback is lack of editing. This 3 hour movie could easily be 2 hours with no loss

[@JonJonJonJonJonJonJonJon]

Lack of editing. Yeah Said editing took Malick 3 years. He should have taken 6

[@elisagriffith5411]

The most beautiful movie. This should have won the awards. Frightening how low our people have become

[@BMAN-qt3ro]

Agreed

[@jaska11]

“Some of Malick’s worst work has started to look like and existential perfume advert”

[@nicheman3612]

It's a good and funny line but I was deeply moved by Tree of Life and Knight of Cups too. I suppose what appears to one person as an existential perfume ad is a brave and beautiful attempt to push cinematic storytelling in a new direction to another. It's like how impressionist painting (and later cubism, abstract forms) was derided and rejected by many cultural commentators when they first appeared.

[@jsammo6528]

Cagerage King NAKED EMPEROR ALERT!! The consensus can also be correct - ToL is a travesty and rightfully has been simply ignored.

[@nicheman3612]

@@jsammo6528 There's a lot of Tree of Life fans out there. A great deal of cinephiles love it. I don't know what "simply ignored" and "consensus" means in this context. That it didn't get as much box office as an Avengers movie? Okay then sailor.

[@jsammo6528]

Cagerage King please don’t mention box office and marvel when this about a guy who some held in the same lofty position as Kubrick (box office never got brought up about SK). Put simply ToL was naff - emoting dinosaurs give me a break, lines of people and heaven zzz, whispers and then some more whispers. Go back over every Malik radio five live review since New World and perfume ads get a mention, for good reason.

[@igorleeck2027]

@@nicheman3612 It is kind of dumb how all of these movie critics either side of politics are saying that a movie was specifically made for their political views.

[@Togutas]

So good to hear. Badlands is my favourite film of all time and everything up to thin red line has such a special place for me (tree of life to some extent as well). Seeing the positive reception of a hidden place has made me so happy. I cannot wait to see it.

[@donna25871]

Best film since The Thin Red Line.

[@chickennugget6985]

Loved this movie... it’s an journey, and experience.

[@F19991]

I loved Knight of Cups. It was my first Malick film and is still my favorite after having watched nearly all his other movies. Tree of Life comes second for me. A Hidden Life was good and thought provoking, as he intended. The images are so beautiful, it's like stepping into a time machine. But the film still didn't quite scratch my intellectual itch as much as those other films. 8/10

[@ericl.4173]

Kermode mentioning Its a Wonderful Life was a bit of a reach. This film has some long and lifelike stretches of beautiful grassy valleys high up in the hills of Austria and just some ominous shots toward the end when they show the pale of water. Another scene where the village men have a bit too much to drink and stumble down a bright green hill slope to knock on the main characters door;and try to scare him. Malcik; is constantly stereotyped for having no story.This is proof a critic is lost.Malick has scripts and can actually be quite linear if you go along for the ride. Critics believing that specific style of screenwriting is better than others is a misstep in film going. This is one of the best film of 2019.

[@serf6355]

Best one since Thin Red Line…. But nothing compares to that masterpiece-

[@brachiator1]

The music in this clip is quite beautiful, and the cinematography is beguiling. I gave up on this director a number of films ago, but I am curious to see this one. So far my favorite film of his is still Days of Heaven.

[@shawcdb]

I share your opinions! Unfortunately, the clip is unrepresentatively old-school Malick: I found the film infuriating and I might well have walked out if it didn't mean disturbing everyone else on my row! He seems to have given up on dialogue entirely, replacing it with a series of monologues to which other characters can only react by staring wistfully into the middle distance. And he's also virtually abandoned continuity editing and framing. The wide-angle lens held mostly at hip height is hardly ever still, swooping up into people's faces and lurching away again in a giddy fashion. These techniques are OK when employed to a specific end, but here they just became incredibly annoying! Sorry to say, I don't think we will ever see another 'Days of Heaven'...!

[@sesaeo-the-games-we-play]

This film was truly beautiful and so, so moving. I really have no bad words about it. It’s just wonderful.

[@orcaflotta7867]

One doesn't just walk into Mordor, and one doesn't just criticise Terrence Malick!!! What was Mark thinking?

[@uri_sky9985]

I watch too many movies but this one is different I can't forget all the beautiful moment . Thanks to all actors ❤

[@bradleyoneil8313]

Life, faith, and true love. This film is like a movie lover meditation

[@randysandford4033]

Great movie. Long but it will leave you stunned at the end.

[@reecemesser]

"The greatest danger is not when men fight for truth but simply ignore it"

[@cristinapopescu3819]

Knight of Cups is a masterpiece, one of my fav Malick movies.

[@withnail-and-i]

Agreed!

[@cristinapopescu3819]

He should offer Malick more respect by watching his movies repeatedly.

[@JonJonJonJonJonJonJonJon]

I’ve yet to watch new world and knight of cups. I really liked tree of life. Thought this was class aswell.

[@UncleClauClau]

Sorry, bit late, but completely true. It’s Malick’s best film, I’ve been astonished a few times by how dismissive Mark is about it. The actual review is painful. It’s magnificent and also rewards rewatching. Makes me cry.

[@cristinapopescu3819]

@@UncleClauClau i must have watched it about 10 times and dedicated it a large space in an academic essay. I think you are right and it may actually be his best movie.

[@leehodge9741]

Perfume ads are pretty high quality now ! Lol !

[@ed1rko17]

At times I think it looses the thread of the story by being honestly quite meandering, but by the end of the film I was left an emotional wreck. Some of the camera work at times became intrusive and distracting. The low angle hand-held shots in conversations just made you go "oh my god cut it out, I just want to look at a normal frame for a second", and it's definitely too long. But even with my complaints, it is still an incredibly moving and beautiful movie. An incredibly flawed and ill-disciplined beautiful movie.

[@bencarlson4300]

Haven’t seen it yet, but I would bet this film will get a Criterion release within a couple of years

[@acquiescence5331]

2:49 Death Stranding

[@TheDragonSmasher]

Acquiescence lol

[@TheNegativeOptimist1]

The opening shots of Death Stranding did remind me of a Malick film.

[@henryburby6077]

I really love the thin red line. My biggest problem with this movie was the lack of german subtitles. Otherwise, i thought it was briliant.

[@maxrox2363]

A masterpiece.

[@GiantSandles]

I think it strikes the balance Thin Red Line struck of having all that beautiful imagery and being on the poetic side without being too far up it’s own arse, nothing about it came across as being almost self parody the way some of Tree of Life did

[@CameronBrooks]

Ebert’s site gave Knight of Cups 4 stars 😂 when it deserved perhaps 1 star just for cinematography.. But this.. definitely deserves 4 stars - I just wish every single film was shot this ultra wide.. must be seen on a huge TV and in 4k BTW did you know this didn’t even get nominated for a best cinematography Oscar? Hopefully Amazon prime doesn’t force high frame rate BS on you like it did for me.. it would make Malick lose his mind if he had to rewatch his own movie at 60fps 😂

[@thedivinemessenger]

Knight of cups* and the film was actually fireeee lol

[@thomasmetcalf6411]

Badlands is his best film

[@garyr6097]

I love mallick....he divides people ...he creates art not what sells... I am watching this movie at the moment and it feels like I'm watching the tree of life....and it feels like the thin red line in its subject ...anti war (I love that) Not sure why I'm saying this...its just an observation. I havnt seen all of mallicks movies like the kermode seems to of.... but I feel I've seen enough if his movies to realise not to ever critisize any of them (even if i dI'dnt like them (like Kermode seems to here).....because mallick is expressing himself through film.... Anyway in my opinion these are the type of movies that should be winning oscars..but we all know they don't. I'm sure that will go to joker or 1917..(don't get me wrong they were great movies) But this movie for me ..is in a different league..*even though I've only seen an hour of it so far. Still loving the kermode though...even though I disagree with some of his chosen words from time to time. Great to hear he likes the movie

[@ciarann182]

marko knight of cups is a quality film bro

[@damienpatton1680]

Not as good as Prince of Cups though

[@nicheman3612]

A lot better than this film imo.

[@UncleClauClau]

Love this comment. Why oh why does he dismiss it so often? The best TM film, high level diamond.

[@patrickodonnell9086]

Hope we get a JoJo Rabbit review from kermode Soon

[@patrickodonnell9086]

Yeah fair enough I can see why

[@roachboy8583]

Terence Malick is directing the Superman reboot and is developing the Silmarilion for HBO.

[@alexanderpieri1971]

Knight of cups is great experimental movie for me and very interesting. Mark you are *********

[@jessica5497]

I dont care for Terrence Malick, but i loved this movie

[@JonJonJonJonJonJonJonJon]

I really liked tree of life.

[@VicenteTorresAliasVits]

A HIDDEN LIFE (based on the real story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who didn't support the Nazis) has a more traditional narrative structure compared to a lot of Terrence Malick's previous projects. However, his love for meandering plots hasn't faded away, resulting in his longest work to date. If you're in the mood to see an almost 3-hour historical film about a man being imprisoned and tortured because of his beliefs, in a way that makes viewers debate about the difference between principles and stubbornness, I'd recommend SILENCE, an emotionally exhausting but ultimately rewarding experience. Overall, this is a well-made production, but it's too repetitive to achieve the impact it's trying to leave. Also, if you want characters that should be speaking German to speak English instead, I can live with that, but it has to be consistent. Don't have them switch back and forth between both languages throughout the running time. It takes the audience out of the movie. 6/10

[@TabrisRebuild]

Saw it at TIFF, it’s honestly my least favourite Malick film, an awkward return to more narrative heavy story telling with some heavy content but still trying to use the form of Malick’s last few films, more freeform and airy, but here it feels inappropriate to the content. Have been awaiting this review to see how Kermode would react seeing how he’s hated recently Malick, and I’m not surprised by this. I for one, love Malick’s newer output, very experimental and sensory, great stuff. This on the other hand felt like a didactic, bloated slog.

[@movieace1295]

Same, I liked Knight of Cups better than this but JNH's score is amazing!

[@nicheman3612]

@@movieace1295 Compeltely agree - it was neither fish nor fowl. Bloated and didactic seem like appropriate words despite all the good intentions.

[@nev707]

An emotive movie . But a big too long. Makes you sad and angry.

[@arjyomitra9121]

I think he meant 'Life is Beautiful', not 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

[@Woesteinvuir]

No, I'm fairly certain he meant It's A Wonderful Life, given the point being made was about the cumulative power of small acts of ordinary decency.

[@joshsobchak9902]

Hi

[@georg3besti3]

poetic adject on mal. XD

[@Greg-xo6bv]

A remarkable story which didn’t translate well on screen. Do all great stories make great movies? This movie proves they don’t. Three hours of stunning scenery but not much else. Great performances but the lack of dialogue had me checking my phone, praying for the end to come so I could leave. Don’t bother paying for a cinema ticket. You’re gonna watch three hours of essentially the same shots, just to different voice over dialogue.

[@bebaguette766]

Perhaps your short attention span is the problem? Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon don't have much of a narrative either and little to no dialogue. What about Ozu? Silent films? I understand that the film is long, but please try to commit to a film, there's no way you can truly appreciate a film if you start checking your phone.

[@chrish8871]

Mark I value your opinion and hope you read a value mine. For me, you miss the point sorry, this movie is not about its point in time. The subject. It’s about society and values. Under extraordinary pressure people failed to allow other thoughts. Other points of view. Other ways of thinking and doing. This is seen in society today. It is the enemy of all things. No matter the time, no matter the subject or situation. That enemy, all be it under great evil in this case, in one word is intolerance, and within the law of good. I hope my lack of eloquence conveys more than I am able. The Director of this movie should receive every award there is for this film. He should also probably refuse to accept any of them given societies values in the organisations involved. Mark where you fail for me is the pigeon holing of the director before you start. In order to review a film on the merits of the film alone, perhaps one should have the film q’d up at the start without knowing a single thing about it. Nothing. Not the director. Not the story. Not the actors or their history either. Then review your notes on those things at the end when you then know the rest of the facts. The purpose of this film is not to impress reviewers. But to make a film. Is it a good film. Yes and no it tough going. Is it beautiful? Yes and no, it’s incredibly ugly and incredibly beautiful. It also answers many questions on how these horrific situations were allowed to happen. Questions that have plagued my thinking since I was able to read and write. What a scar this has left on humanity. Has humanity learned. Partly but not in ways that are immediately to the for in this film. You could make this film, set today. In a different political area. It would be the same film. But with a slightly less evil cloud over the heads.

[@MoeBlackArctander]

«...everything up until The Thin Red Line.» So all of theee movies then

[@kevinosiochain7663]

Objective Correlative v. Pathetic Fallacy...MK appears to prefer the latter

[@TeamTwiistz]

The Cinematography it great and every film enjoyer needs to watch this to see it's unique style. But besides that this was not a good movie. The editing, and pacing is terrible. Writing is uninteresting. Acting is decent but characters don't really have moments to shine. There are a few monologues but nothing in this movies screams "Masterpiece" as people claim or even among the greats. For me it doesn't even warrant viewing. I'd only recommend it for those specifically looking at the Cinematography. The sum of all parts make greatest. so it must have more than that.

[@tonyorr890]

Kermode and Mayo

[@Cinemallennials]

If you’d like to see another review of #AHiddenLife click here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqTaqZdmrMSYl8k

[@nodders1]

At some stage in the film, Franz disillusioned with the Catholic hierarchy which sides with Hitler, speaks with an artist in his village who is painting images in the nearby church: “I paint their comfortable Christ, with a halo on his head … Someday I’ll paint the true Christ”. I wish Malick took some of this advice to heart, rather than make a film that's a cross between The Sound of Music and a Chanel advertisement. There was nothing poetic, beautiful, transcendental or aesthetically profound in the lives of the shepherds and farmers of the High Alps in the first half of the 20th century. My great-grandmother and great-grandfather, living a few miles south of the Austrian border and in much similar surroundings and facing much of the same struggles as the Jägerstätter's, did not spend their days swooning over each other's love and speaking in hushed tones about "living above the clouds". I get it that not everything has to be Italian neo-realism and gritty portrayals, but this is so far removed from the reality of the events as to render it almost meaningless. And, in view of the quote above, more than a bit hypocritical in its artistic pretensions.

[@bumpygumpson]

"There was nothing poetic, beautiful, transcendental or aesthetically profound in the lives of the and farmers of the High Alps in the first half of the 20th century." This is pessimism to the point of absurdity and you claim to be the honest one? The beauty of a "true Christ," not just the ugliness, challenges the Christian. Wallowing in ugliness and denying transcendence is another kind of cheap comfort.

[@alextromagnetic]

Malick's post Thin Red Line films are only so widely praised because he chooses highly talented cinematographers. Other than that his films are hollow shells

[@timk6181]

Yep whispering nonsense with about as much profundity as your Nan's fridge magnets. Eugh

[@charliepanayiotou4305]

Three of his six films since The Thin Red Line have had good reviews, not exactly a 100% hit rate

[@maxxs2]

Tree of Life and To the Wonder were brilliant, like a symphony or a ballet.

[@bebaguette766]

Just out of curiosity, what nonsense are you referring to? In what film?

[@mattlacy3533]

20 minutes looking at grass isn’t genius.

[@nmaurok]

What a boring film that was. I wanted to get into Terrence Malick and I figured this was the place to start, but god was I disappointed. All the shots from the trailer take place in the first 10 minutes and it's all the same from there. The wide angle shots became so repetitive, and while the cinematography was really quite beautiful the storyline failed to catch me. Yeah, the main actors were good, but who spends that much time lying down on the grass and making out? Did the director get all of his inspiration for pastoral life from a Shakespeare comedy? Also, why on Earth do all of his shots last no more than 5 seconds? Had to leave the cinema two hours into it, I'm nowhere near as strong willed as the protagonist and I didn't think I could stand another hour of that film.

[@user-ep7sp4nb6v]

You should really start with Badlands and work your way up. It would help you understand his current movies; although Malik obviously isn't for everyone.

[@deathmaxxx]

Watching this for 3 hours felt like a torture. Outstanding cinematography, yes, but wasted on the glorification of utterly stupid hero character. As a family man, the decision making process of this guy is just unbelievable, complete oposite of what humans should glorify or romantize. So wrong, on so many levels.

[@andybrown3016]

Yes absolutely agree. He caused unbelievable suffering for his family just for his own pig headed values. He could have served in the hospital treating the wounded soldiers and didn’t need to fight as his lawyer told him. All he had to do was pled allegiance to Hitler but he refused. These are just words and like the one guy who was trying to help him said it is what is in your heart that matters not what you say. Glorifying such a selfish self important man was exactly how you described it torture. A true hero puts the well-being of others first. Glad I found one person who saw it the same way

[@jessica5497]

Well...was based in true facts

[@stymiedagain]

In a documentary I saw it said he had requested to serve as an orderly three times but was turned down. But I wonder with your argument, would you have obligingly served Hitler’s final solution, gassing Jews and saying “I’m only doing this for my family”. Evil prospers when good people do nothing. How much worse to cooperate with it? Many soldiers lost their lives fighting Hitler’s forces. Should they all have stayed home for the sake of their families and let Hitler be victorious?

[@julianjessevideo]

Trump began campaigning with his anti immigrant rhetoric in 2015. It's absolutely a commentary on the U.S's political climate - and the Christian right.

[@isthisthekrustykrab8646]

I thought Mark had a PhD in English Literature or something similar. How the hell doesn’t he know what pathetic fallacy is?

[@damienpatton1680]

Cus he's rusty on his literary terms...?

[@littletree1343]

Prophetic fallacy

[@isthisthekrustykrab8646]

little tree ... no it’s pathetic fallacy

[@isthisthekrustykrab8646]

Damien Patton He must be pretty damn rusty. I’d expect a GCSE English Lit student to know what pathetic fallacy is. This is like a BioChem PhD not knowing what a platelet is.

[@frankierc2920]

He does, but he just thinks the way it was implemented was at points too obvious and a bit jarring

[@Luvie1980]

Hopefully it's better than tree of life.

[@RockBottomRiser21]

Somebody hasn't seen the movies he's made since then.

[@nikowalker1128]

Luvie1980 fav film of all time. I can fs see why ppl would despise it

[@MichaelStanley93]

this was my first Malick film...I hated it. even reading Malick's detractors didn't prepare me for how rambling and empty and superficial it would be.

[@nicheman3612]

Honestly I'm a huge Malick fan and I didn't like this one - although I respected its intentions. So there's a chance you may still like his other stuff. Work your way chronologically starting with Badlands and see how you go.

[@VitomirKaucic]

It's an awful movie it has nothing new to say on the subject matter, pretentious garbage, desperately trying to shove cheap philosophy down our throats with ruminations in off monologue and suggestive music. Plus the trying so hard with cheap retro-avantgarde gimmickry posing as something new. This would newer get greenlit if it wasn't for the big ass director (gone flaccid after Tree of life)