In World War Two all soldiers in the German armed forces were required to swear an oath of personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler. A Hidden Life tells the true story of Austrian farmer Franz Jagerstatter whose faith and beliefs led him to become a conscientious objector when called up to serve in the war.

Possibly one of the most important pieces of information for the “average” cinema goer to know about this film is that it is a written and directed by Terence Malick. This is crucial because Malick’s vision is a singular one and if you are not already in tune to his work then this film will not change your mind. What I can tell you is that this is Malick on absolutely top form and I adored every minute of the 174 minute running time. For reference, his notable and best works are Badlands, Days Of Heaven, The Thin Red Line and The Tree of Life.

Malick tells Franz’ story in his typical fashion. Gorgeous cinematography with a huge focus on nature, overlapping narration, soul searching and editing that makes the whole film seem like a fever dream. It is a wonder how it all comes together in a cohesive whole but somehow he makes it work beautifully. One of the key facets is that Malick needs actors who can show huge emotions without words because of the way he cuts his films together. August Diehl and Valerie Pachner who play Franz and Fani Jagerstatter do a fantastic job of this for him packing in an entire lifetime of love in their looks to each other.

The story itself takes its time (non Malick fans can rephrase this to “moves at a glacial pace”) to show us their life as farmers, the impact of Franz’ decision on his marriage, how it impacts those around him and how his family are treated. There are no simple answers and the film really hits home the complexity of how the German people would put self preservation in front of moral actions. There are allusions to Christ and if Franz has any similarity to him whilst putting into stark view the actual behaviour of the Church in those times. We even see how his actions impact the German soldiers around him.

The films title is taken from a George Eliot poem about how life is better thanks to the many people who quietly do the right thing without their story being heard. This is a story that people should hear and the film poses many moral questions that we should all consider and it does so in such a transcendent beautiful manner that I hope you see it and love it as much as I did.