Una vida oculta

Saw this in Toronto and felt privileged to be in a world where a movie like this is made and a story like this is told. Based on letters written between a husband and wife while he is in jail for being a conscientious objector in Hitler's Austria. So heartbreaking to see how the village where he lived, all friends and neighbours for decades - all become his enemies as he is the only one willing to say No. And yet he is strong in his convictions and sustained by love.

Terence Malick has made some unique and wonderful films. This time, I feel he's reached a 'style over substance' moment that can't be overlooked. The story of a conscientious objector during WWII is certainly a workable topic. But this movie seems determined to be another ethereal art piece that's sort of a movie. The narrative is kept simple, not reaching the soulful depths i was expecting. The cinematography is fine but it's not life-changing. I mean, the location is really the star, and the angles and shots are merely relaying a background of beauty; in other words, filming in the Bavarian Alps you tend to get a lot of breathtaking shots. So what you end up getting is three hours of overindulgence in movie-making, and not a satisfying experience. I think Malick's deepest fan base will like it, but objectively, I don't see the greatness in this film, but perhaps great material to debate in a college classroom.

The visually outstanding war drama "A Hidden Life" tells a true, hitherto hardly publicly perceived story of a resistance fighter who rebelled without any great gestures against Hitler and the Third Reich in a lyrical-meditative style as a Jesus allegory. This film works as a philosophical love story, which, precisely because it tells a different view of the Second World War, stands out particularly and is another well-made work by the long-established director Terrence Malick.

You feel than it is a film by Terrence Malick. And, knowing before the first scenes the story of Franz Jagestatter you have the certitude than nobody except him can give, in fair manner, the story of the Austrian blessed. Sure, the image and the storytelling and the perfect cast. But more. A sort of thrill about a delicate theme not so easy to present in right way. And a great film about conscience against dictatorship. The source of force -,off course, is the image but, more important, the status of contemporary story. It represents a form of warning. Clear and high precise send to us.

Nearly half a century lies between this film and the only previous Terrence Malick I'd seen, BADLANDS, which I admire very much and have watched a number of times. As might be expected, he's a very different film maker now. I found A HIDDEN LIFE something of a puzzle. It is undoubtedly beautiful to watch, even as its subject matter gets progressively grimmer. Its religiosity was something of a challenge to me, as was its stilted dialogue. Its story is the familiar one of a man suffering for what he believes. It is the story of John Procter, the hero of Arthur Miller's play THE CRUCIBLE; it is the story of Ibsen's Dr Stockmann, in the play ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. And of course it's the story of Jesus Christ. There is a tragic grandeur to all of these, and, whatever my reservations about it, there is tragic grandeur to A HIDDEN LIFE. My husband found it unbearably pretentious. I can see why. But I admire the way that this film isn't like anyone else's, that Malick has, in the course of the last half-century, found a way of working that delivers something unique. It certainly won't be to everyone's taste, and aspects of it test one's patience. All the same, I was glad to have seen it, not least for the cinematography and the performances, and the retelling of a story that we all still need to hear in these troubled times.