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A Hidden Life, Terrence Malik‘s gorgeous and devastating World War II movie, tells the story of one man’s singular rebellion against the Nazis when he takes a stand and refuses to fight for the party. As a conscientious objector, Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) is taken away from his idyllic home in the Austrian Alps, imprisoned and sentenced to death after refusing to sign an oath of allegiance.
The film’s haunting story is told over nearly three hours, which show Jägerstätter transform from a farmer and father tucked away in the mountains to a determined prisoner willing to give his life if it means he won’t have to sacrifice his beliefs. Jägerstätter’s imprisonment is even more jarring when he’s ripped from his home, a beautiful village with lush green fields and snow-topped peaks, that’s a sharp contrast to the horrifying prison he’s sent to.
Here’s everything you need to know about the film’s stunning scenery and more.
WHERE WAS A HIDDEN LIFE FILMED?
While A Hidden Life takes place in Austria, much of the film’s stunning village scenes were actually filmed in the Italian Alps, according to Architectural Digest. Specifically, the film was shot in South Tyrol, Italy’s breathtaking peaks that stand in for A Hidden Life‘s Austrian village. “The amazing thing about that part of the world is that most of these farmhouses there look just like they used to look 150 years ago,” production designer Sebastian Krawinkel told AD. But the film did shoot some of its scenes in Germany, filming in a village in the Australian Alps named St. Radegund.
A HIDDEN LIFE MOVIE: IS A HIDDEN LIFE A TRUE STORY?
Yes, A Hidden Life is based on a true story. The film is inspired by the life of Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter, who was imprisoned and sentenced to death for refusing to fight for the Nazis during World War II. “Researching Jägerstätter’s life and speaking to his family and being in the places where it happened constantly gave me goosebumps,” Krawinkel told Architectural Digest.
To keep the story as authentic as possible, A Hidden Life‘s scenes filmed in Germany were shot right in Jägerstätter’s old home in St. Radegund, Krawinkel explained. “That was a big challenge because obviously now his real house doesn’t look as genuine and, let’s say, romantic as we wanted it to be,” he said. “But we thought it was important to use the real location.”
WHO STARS IN A HIDDEN LIFE? A HIDDEN LIFE CAST:
A Hidden Life stars August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter, Valerie Pachner as Franziska Jägerstätter, Michael Nyqvist as Bishop Joseph Fliesser, Jürgen Prochnow as Major Schlegel, Matthias Schoenaerts as Captain Herder, Bruno Ganz as Judge Lueben, Martin Wuttke as Major Kiel, Alexander Fehling as Fredrich Feldmann, Maria Simon as Resie, and Franz Rogowski as Waldlan.
