Taking place during World War II, a farmer in Austria, Franz Jagerstatter, refuses to fight for Nazi Germany because he believes what the Nazis do isn’t God’s way. Franz is happy to be with the love of his life, Franziska, and their three daughters.
Blaine: Terrence Malick is a mysterious filmmaker. No one knows what goes on in his head, but he finds a way to express his creative abilities while making films. A lot of Terrence Malick’s films like “The Tree of Life”, “To the Wonder”, “Knight of Cups” and “Song to Song” don’t have any dialog. Also it’s a mystery for the actors to know what type of movie they are making because there is hardly a script. Those movies are like watching silent films. What I love about them is that they have great cinematography shots to look at. To me watching a Terrence Malick movie is about looking at the style. “A Hidden Life” is different from those other Terrence Malick movies because this one actually has a plot, which means there was a script. “A Hidden Life” is based on a real life story about a man who was locked up just because being a Nazi was something he didn’t want to do in life. He was separated from his family and they wrote each other letters a lot. Terrence Malick was able to find those letters and he used them to help him write the script for “A Hidden Life”. It’s a story a lot of people are unfamiliar with, but Terrence is the first person to tell it.
Valerie Pächner was the first actor to be hired for “A Hidden Life” after the casting director tested her out. The casting director felt Valerie was right for the part of the wife, Franziska. Terrence wasn’t around to see Valerie for himself, the casting director basically did all the work with her. Valerie had heard a few things about Franz Jagerstatter’s story because she comes from Austria. But being apart of this project gave her a better learning experience about who he was.
After Valerie was hired, she was asked to read scenes with the actors auditioning for the part of Franz. August Diehl came in after hearing the rumors in Berlin about Terrence Malick looking for German actors for his next project. August looked right for the part as soon as he entered the room and both him and Valerie looked perfect together. The three daughters of Franz got to get a good look at August at one point and they also thought he was perfect. Valerie and August felt blessed to be working with a spiritual director like Terrence Malick and to be involved with a project that is telling an important story.
Terrence Malick shared the letters with Valerie and August so they could know some details. And then Terrence is an open minded person when it comes to ideas his cast or crew might have. Terrence also tells his actors what they should feel in a scene. August said that Terrence had him think the dialog during one scene without having to say it. Judging by their performances, Valerie and August, bring a lot of heart and emotion into their characters. They also show Franz and Franziska’s strength. There was more to this project besides acting. The actors also did a lot of farm work as well, like milk cows, work on a garden, shed sheep. They felt like they were doing chores more than acting. Valerie Pachter already had experience in farming because growing up her grandparents owned a farm in a countryside. Valerie wanted to revisit that life again. It was something she felt she had to do to prepare herself for the role. Valerie wanted the work she was doing in the film to feel like she was a pro at it. In one scene Valerie is covered in mud because she had just cleaned a well. She looks like she busted her butt to do not just the well, but the other farm work as well.
You hear August Diehl and Valerie Pachner’s voices in the background during scenes. It’s almost like narration.
Franz did train to be a Nazi, but he felt this wasn’t right and that it would go against the Lord’s way. So Franz dropped out and went back home, which is like Heaven for him because everything he needs, his wife and his three daughters are there. Franziska is beyond happiness when her husband returns because she would rather have him at home than at war. These two love birds can’t seem to let go of each other. They don’t ever want to be apart again. To have Franz back is a blessing for Franziska.
Franz and Franziska had two things in common. They were madly in love with each other and they were very religious, so they agreed on a lot of things. That is why Franziska is so understanding on why Franz would refuse to be a Nazi because she feels the same way about it as he does. God is the one who brought these two together.
The whole village is turning against the Jagerstatter family just because Franz won’t cooperate with the Nazis. Everyone treats them as outcasts and bullies them. But no matter what they do or say Franz will never become a Nazi and God is his true leader and not Adolf Hitler. Franz and Franziska stay strong and they have God guiding them. They also have the girls and each other and that’s all that matters. Everyone else thinks that there is something wrong with the Jagerstatter family, but they’re the blind ones. They don’t realize what they represent is evil. They try to talk Franz into working for what they don’t know is the real enemy, but there is no way he will ever be a Nazi. Even Franziska’s sister, Resie, asks why she stands by Franz, but obviously Resie doesn’t know what it feels like to have a soul mate. Before the war started everything was so peaceful and everyone got along with each other. The Nazis ruined all of that. There is people who treat Franz and his family with kindness, like a painter who works at the church for one.
Because he keeps refusing to join the Nazi club, Franz has to go to jail. Franz participates with it, even though he hates being separated from his family. Franz can be locked away for a thousand years and nothing would change. Franz’s spirit will forever be dedicated to the Lord. It’s unfair that an innocent man has to be locked up just because he refuses to be apart of something that is wrong. Nazis are cruel and like all other films you have nothing but hate for them. They try and make Franz’s life a living hell, but he still stands strong.
Emmanuel Lubezki has been the DP on five Terrence Malick films since “The New World”. Looking at the cinematography work Emmanuel has done for Terrence is like looking at a masterpiece. Emmanuel didn’t do the cinematography for “A Hidden Life” though. Jorg Widmer was a camera operator on Malick’s films like “Tree of life”, “Knight of Cups” and “Song to Song”. The way “A Hidden Life” is shot is just like any other Terrence Malick movie. “A Hidden Life” has a ton of great shots of these landscapes in a wide frame. It’s cool to look at with the mountains and everything that is green. There is nothing but space in those areas. There are shots just of the landscape and then other shots where the actors are in them and the position or pose is terrific. Terrence Malick would tell his actors where they would have to be in the shot and what they should be doing in order to make the shot look interesting. In one shot you see August and Valerie holding each and there is nothing else in the background but the mountains. The mountains are shown as a background in several shots. There’s even mountains at the camp Franz is in when he trains to be a Nazi. There’s also different spots they went to outside the area where the village is. Like there’s a low angle shot of a high waterfall. There’s also shots in “A Hidden Life” that focus on rivers flowing. The cameras are everywhere in these shots from high to low angles, side to side. I can imagine how much Terrence Malick and his crew went threw just to carry all that camera equipment through the outdoors, putting the camera in the right position it needed to be and getting the perfect shots.
Terrence Malick’s films also have the sun in the spot that it is supposed to be in for each shot. There’s a shot that follows Franz riding a motorcycle through a path on a hill. There’s nothing but nature surrounding him and he passes a few workers. The sun is in the right position and is really shinning as you see the motorcycle ride through. There’s a shot of August Diehl praying with a candle in front of him during one of the scenes where Franz is in jail. The candle is the only thing that shows light in the cell because the room is dark. The tint of that shot is grayish. There’s also a shot of Valerie Pachner looking at flowers and the sun really hits them both. There’s an outline to the flowers because of the sun and it makes them shine. Franz has to go to the train station and Franziska accompanies him. There’s a nice high angle shot of August and Valerie walking on a path. There are trees and a river of the side surrounding them. There’s so much nature in “A Hidden Life”. The location “A Hidden Life” was shot in was South Tyrol in northeast Italy.
Franz gets several offers for a jail free card as long as he devotes himself to Hitler. But there is nothing they can do and so Franz is sentenced to death. Franziska heart is broken, but at the same time she completely understands what her husband is standing for because they are on the same team. Franz makes sure his last moments are peaceful before his life comes to an end.
The church bell rings and a lot of people in the village are upset for the death of Franz. The way they treated Franz and his family wasn’t appropriate, but they didn’t want it to come to this because he was their friend. August Diehl said it wasn’t until after Franz’ death that people realized what he did was a strong decision.
Franz died as a man who never stopped believing in what he felt was right. He heard God’s voice. Franziska is disappointed that her husband is gone, but he will always be with her in spirit and she believes change will come and the village will be back to it’s peaceful self.
Another mystery about Terrence Malick is why his movies take forever during post-production. Like “Knight of Cups” and “Song to Song” were both shot in the year 2012 and they weren’t released till three to five years later. “A Hidden Life” was shot in the year 2016 and it finally got a release in the year 2019 and what better place to premiere the film at than a special event like the Cannes Film Festival. Terrence Malick spent three years on the project during it’s post-production and August Diehl and Valerie Pachner hadn’t gotten to see the film until it’s release at Cannes. It meant a lot for August and Valerie to see how “A Hidden Life” turned out now that it was all put together, plus they spent so much time shooting the movie that it became a big part of their lives. It was something special to them both. “A Hidden Life” is Terrence Malick’s strongest movie ever and my rating on it is five out of five stars.
