A Hidden Life

_A Hidden Life_ is an epic poem written on postcards because the images are very lush but the story is abbreviated. Basically, Terrence Malick is a better cinematographer than he is a director (don't come @ me), because this pseudo-intellectual outing drags like chains around your ankles when you're pacing in your prison cell. The film is the true story of an Austrian conscientious objector in World War II and if that doesn't sound like enough to base a 3-hour biopic on, it isn't. (And why would Malick choose to film the German / Austrian actors in English but the background conversations in German?) The soundtrack is as gorgeous as the images and the film does raise an interesting question (Should one swear allegiance to an evil leader to avoid putting one's family at risk?) but you could listen to the music on Spotify while talking about morality vs practicality over drinks and that would be 3 hours better spent than those lost watching this pretentious postcard.

The world would be a way better place if more Franzes live in it.