It’s often said that war brings out the worst in people but in some cases it does the opposite. A Hidden Life is a story about the second scenario. When the Second World War broke out, it forced people to choose sides. During this time of turmoil Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) decided to resist when the Nazis tried to force him to serve in the military.
The story of A Hidden Life is remarkably similar to the story of the 1974 TV film The Execution of Private Slovik, which starred Martin Sheen who had just finished working on Terrence Malick‘s film Badlands at the time. Both are films about men refusing to abandon their faith. It’s easy to imagine ourselves as principled people but how many of us would actually dare to disobey if the consequence of doing so was death?
A Hidden Life is the last film to feature Michael Nyqvist (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, John Wick) and Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire, Downfall), both of whom died recently. Judging from the first trailer, A Hidden Life will be a worthy conclusion to their storied careers.
A Hidden Life is directed by Terrence Malick and stars August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Michael Nyqvist, and Bruno Ganz. It will be released on December 13th, 2019 in the U.S. and on January 17th, 2020 in the United Kingdom. For international release dates click here.
Are you excited about Malick tackling an ostensibly more traditional story? Let us know in the comments!
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