Mike Flanagan’s review published on Letterboxd:
My friends and I concluded our 7-film Terrence Malick screening series last night with A HIDDEN LIFE, which was a perfect way to close the curtain on this little journey.
A thoughtful, deeply felt chronicle of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. It's a simple story about a complex moral question, and our responsibility to refuse to participate in what we know is wrong, despite the consequences and pressures from even those closest to us.
Malick's poetic sensibilities feel much more focused here than the films that immediately precede this in his filmography (TO THE WONDER, KNIGHT OF CUPS, SONG TO SONG), and the story is vitally relevant to today's world. The lead performances from August Diehl are Valerie Pachner are excellent, and it also features the final performances from Michael Nyqvist and the iconic Bruno Ganz.
Special shoutout to James Newton Howard's score, which is one of his very best. This feels like a mature, focused, disciplined version of Malick, and represents one of his best films. Highly recommended.
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