Radegund (film)
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''A Hidden Life'' is a 2019
epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...
film written and directed by Terrence Malick. It stars
August Diehl August Diehl (; born 4 January 1976) is a German actor, primarily known to international audiences for playing Gestapo major Dieter Hellstrom in Quentin Tarantino's ''Inglourious Basterds'' and Michael "Mike" Krause, Evelyn Salt's husband, in the ...
,
Valerie Pachner Valerie Pachner (born 26 June 1987) is an Austrian actress. Life and work Valerie Pachner grew up in Bad Schallerbach, Austria, and studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna from 2009 to 2013. She was then part of the ensemble c ...
, and Matthias Schoenaerts with Michael Nyqvist in his final performance. The film depicts the life of
Franz Jägerstätter Franz Jägerstätter, O.F.S. (also spelled Jaegerstaetter in English; born Franz Huber, 20 May 1907 – 9 August 1943) was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed for his refusa ...
, an Austrian farmer and devout Catholic who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. The title is taken from George Eliot's '' Middlemarch'':
...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.
Eliot in turn derived it from a phrase in the New Testament, the Epistle to the Colossians 3:3: "For you died, and owyour life is hidden with Christ in God." The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States on December 13, 2019. It received critical acclaim upon release and was the final feature film to be released under the Fox Searchlight Pictures name before Walt Disney Studios changed the company's name to Searchlight Pictures on January 17, 2020.


Plot

Austrian peasant farmer
Franz Jägerstätter Franz Jägerstätter, O.F.S. (also spelled Jaegerstaetter in English; born Franz Huber, 20 May 1907 – 9 August 1943) was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed for his refusa ...
, born and brought up in the small village of St. Radegund, is working his land when war breaks out. Married to Franziska, colloquially Fani, the couple are important members of the tight-knit rural community. They live a simple life with the passing years marked by the arrival of the couple's three girls. Franz is called up for basic training in the German army and is away from his beloved wife and children for months. Eventually, when France surrenders and it seems the war might end soon, he is sent back from training. With his mother and sister-in-law Resie, he and his wife farm the land and raise their children amid the mountains and valleys of upper Austria, cutting hay and gathering. As the war goes on, Jägerstätter and the other able-bodied men in the village are called up to fight. Their first requirement is to swear an
oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. Despite pressure from the mayor and his neighbors, who increasingly ostracize him and his family, and from the Bishop of Linz, Jägerstätter refuses. Wrestling with the knowledge that his decision will mean arrest and even death, he finds strength in his faith in God, his prayers, and Fani's love and support. He is taken to prison, first in Enns, then in Berlin and waits months for his trial. During his time in prison, he and Fani write letters to each other and give each other strength. Fani and their daughters are victims of growing hostility in the village over her husband's decision not to fight. Fani is eventually able to visit her husband in Berlin. After months of brutal incarceration, Jägerstätter's case goes to trial. He is found guilty and sentenced to death. Despite many opportunities to sign the oath of allegiance, and the promise of non-combatant work, he continues to refuse and is executed by the Third Reich on August 9, 1943, while his wife and daughters survive.


Cast


Production


Development

On June 23, 2016, reports emerged that the film, then titled ''Radegund'', would depict the life of Austria’s
Franz Jägerstätter Franz Jägerstätter, O.F.S. (also spelled Jaegerstaetter in English; born Franz Huber, 20 May 1907 – 9 August 1943) was an Austrian conscientious objector during World War II. Jägerstätter was sentenced to death and executed for his refusa ...
, a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
during World War II who was put to death at age 36 for undermining military actions, and was later declared a martyr and
beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
by the Catholic Church. It was announced that
August Diehl August Diehl (; born 4 January 1976) is a German actor, primarily known to international audiences for playing Gestapo major Dieter Hellstrom in Quentin Tarantino's ''Inglourious Basterds'' and Michael "Mike" Krause, Evelyn Salt's husband, in the ...
was set to play Jägerstätter and
Valerie Pachner Valerie Pachner (born 26 June 1987) is an Austrian actress. Life and work Valerie Pachner grew up in Bad Schallerbach, Austria, and studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna from 2009 to 2013. She was then part of the ensemble c ...
to play his wife, Franziska Jägerstätter. Jörg Widmer was appointed as the director of photography, having worked in all of Malick's films since ''
The New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
'' (2005) as a
camera operator A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmaking ...
.


Writing

Malick said ''A Hidden Life'' would have a more structured narrative than his previous works: "Lately—I keep insisting, only very lately—have I been working without a script and I've lately repented the idea. The last picture we shot, and we're now cutting, went back to a script that was very well ordered." This makes it his first linear, plot-driven film since 2005's
The New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
. He added, "There’s a lot of strain when working without a script because you can lose track of where you are. It’s very hard to coordinate with others who are working on the film. Production designers and location managers arrive in the morning and don’t know what we’re going to shoot or where we’re going to shoot. The reason we did it was to try and get moments that are spontaneous and free. As a movie director, you always feel with a script that you’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. And with no script, there’s no round hole, there’s just air. But I’m backing away from that style now." Malick obtained rights to the book ''Franz Jägerstätter: Letters and Writings from Prison'', edited by Erna Putz, for the film.


Filming

The film began production in Studio Babelsberg in
Potsdam, Germany Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
in summer 2016. From 11 July to 19 August 2016 the production shot on location in South Tyrol. Locations there were the church of St. Valentin in
Seis am Schlern Seis am Schlern (; it, Siusi allo Sciliar ) is an Alpine village in South Tyrol, in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of northern Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Kastelruth. Geography The village lies in the Dolomites, in ...
, the valley of Gsies, the village of Rodeneck, the mills in
Terenten Terenten (; it, Terento ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of Bolzano. Geography As of December 31, 2015, it had a population of 1,743 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics ...
, the meadows of Albions in Lajen, the Seiser Alm, the Taufers Castle, the Fane Alm in Mühlbach, the
Puez-Geisler Nature Park The Puez-Geisler Nature Park ( it, Parco naturale Puez Odle; german: Naturpark Puez-Geisler) is a nature reserve in the Dolomites in South Tyrol, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a ...
, the renaissance Velthurns Castle in the village of
Feldthurns Feldthurns (; it, Velturno ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy about northeast of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 January 2019, it had a population of 2,873 and an area of . Feldthurns borders Brixen, Klausen, Villn ...
, the
Franzensfeste Fortress Franzensfeste Fortress ( it, Forte di Fortezza; german: Festung Franzensfeste, literally "Franz's Fortress") is a fortress situated in the village of Franzensfeste, in South Tyrol, Italy. Emperor Francis I began constructing the fortress in 183 ...
, the gardens of the bishop's
Hofburg The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...
in Brixen and the Neustift cloister. In August 2016, reports emerged that some of the film's scenes were shot in the small Italian mountain village of Sappada.


Post-production

Actor Franz Rogowski said in a March 2019 interview that no one knew how the film would turn out or when it would be released, considering that it had been in post-production for more than two years at that point. Rogowski added that Malick is "a director who creates spaces rather than produces scenes; his editing style is like that."


Music

The film's score is by
James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...
and features violinist James Ehnes, who also performed Howard's violin concerto released in 2018. It was released by Sony Classical Records on December 6, 2019. Of the score, Howard said, "It is a spiritual-sounding score... Terry often spoke about the suffering inherent in love, and you feel yearning, suffering and love in that piece". The score features 40 minutes of original score mixed with selected classical works by Bach,
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
, Dvořák, Górecki, Pärt and others. It was recorded at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
in London in one day in June 2018 with a 40-piece string section conducted by Pete Anthony with Shawn Murphy as score mixer. Not listed * Henryk Górecki Symphony No. 3, Op. 36 – Lento-Cantabile


Release

''A Hidden Life'' premiered in competition at the
72nd Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president. The Palme d'Or went to the South Korean film ''Parasite'', directed by Bong Joon-ho; Bong became th ...
on May 19, 2019. The next day, it was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures for $12–14 million. The film screened at the Vatican Film Library on December 4, 2019, with Malick making a rare public appearance to introduce the film. It was released in limited release in the U.S. on December 13, 2019, followed by a wide release in January.


Reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "Ambitious and visually absorbing, ''A Hidden Life'' may prove inscrutable to non-devotees—but for viewers on Malick's wavelength, it should only further confirm his genius." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Peter DeBruge of '' Variety'' writes: "Whether or not he is specifically referring to the present day, its demagogues, and the way certain evangelicals have once again sold out their core values for political advantage, ''A Hidden Life'' feels stunningly relevant as it thrusts this problem into the light." Jägerstätter biographer Erna Putz was touched by the film's spirituality after a private screening in June 2019, saying that Malick had made an "independent and universal work". She also considered Diehl's and Pachner's performances to be accurate to who Franz and Franziska were ("Franz, as I know him from the letters, and Franziska, as I know from encounters").


Accolades


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hidden Life, A 2019 films 2019 independent films 2010s prison drama films American prison drama films Cultural depictions of Austrian men Films about farmers Films directed by Terrence Malick Films scored by James Newton Howard Films produced by Grant Hill (producer) Films set in 1939 Films set in 1941 Films set in 1943 Films set in Austria Films set in Berlin Fox Searchlight Pictures films English-language German films German drama films World War II films based on actual events Films about anti-fascism Films about Catholicism Films about Christianity Anti-war films about World War II Anti-war films 2019 drama films 2010s American films 2010s German films Films about Austrian resistance