A Hidden Life, written and directed by Terrence Malick - 10 out of 10

 A Hidden Life, written and directed by Terrence Malick

10 out of 10

A Hidden Life seems to be the perfect motion picture to see at the time of the New Age Plague, as billions are under lockdown, this is long enough at almost three hours for people with so much time to spend under house arrest, it is inspirational, shows the Absolute courage that the hero has and we also need in large doses to look at the end of the virus and what is left of the world outside…face the dramatic questions of subsistence, will there be enough money, could we keep this house, how will we light and heat it…

Franz Jagerstatter aka fantastic August Diehl has the almost certitude that he will die if he keeps going against the Nazis, maintain his virtues, the belief that killing is wrong and thus refusing to participate in World War II, as an Austrian peasant farmer who is forced by the vicious law to join in the army and fight for Hitler and his demented ideas…

Terrence Malick is the sublime writer- director of this movie, acclaimed for his other beautiful achievements, such as The Thin Red Line - http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-thin-red-line-based-on-novel-by.html - during the filming of which he has first learned about the story, which would lead to A Hidden Life

At the end of the film, we have the powerful, magnificent quote form George Eliot, that gives the title to this great feature and furthermore, explains how important the attitude of the hero is, against the perhaps common dismissal which could be heard in cinema theaters – where this majestic film has done very poorly at the box office alas – that this is just one man who will change nothing and should not bother to oppose Hitler and his regime

“...for 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.”

Indeed, in one poignant dialogue, Judge Lueben aka marvelous, legendary Bruno Ganz - http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-party-by-sally-potter-writer-and.html - speaks about the futility of the prisoner’s attitude and the risk of facing a death sentence if he continues to defy the fascists…

What makes the public think that the hero might just change his mind is his devotion, seemingly intense love for his children and especially his wondrous wife, Fani aka Valerie Pachner, a wonderful artist…

This cinephile has been overwhelmed by the talent of this phenomenal actress, especially since he has had the chance to see her in a completely different role, that of a quite superior, modern day lesbian executive in The Ground Beneath My Feet - http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-party-by-sally-potter-writer-and.html - while in A Hidden Life she portrays a peasant woman contemplating tragedy, having to pull the hard plough on their crop with her sister, at a farm where the man is no longer available…