Overview
A courageous farmer stands firm against tyranny, driven by love and faith.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- contemplative
- mournful
- austere
- reflective viewing
- historical film night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's visual beauty, spiritual ambition, performances, and moral seriousness, while noting that its meditative style and long runtime may feel inscrutable or excessive.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Terrence Malick uses sparse dialogue, voice-over reflection, fluid camera movement, and an emphasis on inner faith to shape the story.
The Austrian mountains, farms, fields, and changing light are repeatedly filmed as a contrast to the violence and coercion of Nazism.
Franz Jägerstätter refuses to fight for the Nazi regime despite imprisonment and the threat of execution.
Village hostility, institutional intimidation, and Nazi authority isolate Franz and burden Fani for his refusal to conform.
Films like A Hidden Life, and why
The Tree of Life
shared contemplative historical drama, spiritual seriousness, lyrical cinematography, and moral resistance under fascism
The Diary of Anne Frank
shared World War II setting, intimate humanist drama, faith, and the emotional cost of opposing Nazism
Hacksaw Ridge
shared historical war drama, religious conviction, conscientious resistance, and solemn moral intensity
The Lives of Others
shared austere period drama, principled individual resistance, and meditative treatment of political oppression
Movie Details
- Director
- Terrence Malick
- Release Date
- 2019-08-27
- Runtime
- 173 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (813)
Cast
- August Diehl
- Valerie Pachner
- Maria Simon
- Karin Neuhäuser
- Tobias Moretti
- Ulrich Matthes
- Matthias Schoenaerts
- Michael Nyqvist
- Franz Rogowski
- Karl Markovics
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Hidden Life about?
- An Austrian farmer’s quiet refusal to serve Hitler becomes a searching Malickian meditation on conscience, faith, love, and moral courage.
- What is A Hidden Life like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Hidden Life as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Hidden Life violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in A Hidden Life as mild.
- What did critics think of A Hidden Life?
- Critics broadly praised the film's visual beauty, spiritual ambition, performances, and moral seriousness, while noting that its meditative style and long runtime may feel inscrutable or excessive.
- Which films are like A Hidden Life?
- Films with a similar feel include The Tree of Life, The Diary of Anne Frank, Hacksaw Ridge, and The Lives of Others.
- How long is A Hidden Life?
- A Hidden Life runs 173 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Hidden Life?
- In United States, A Hidden Life streams on fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow.
