My friends and I concluded our 7-film Terrence Malick screening series last night with A HIDDEN LIFE, which was a perfect way to close the curtain on this little journey.
A thoughtful, deeply felt chronicle of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. It's a simple story about a complex moral question, and our responsibility to refuse to participate in what we know is wrong, despite the consequences and pressures from…
Really dug this. Luca Guadagnino's film uses tennis as an extension of its characters, and the result is an electric collision of will, ambition, friendship, lust, passion, resentment, and love. The love story at the heart of it might not be the one you expect. The kinetic filmmaking and Justin Kuritzkes's razor sharp script are helped by committed performances and an all-timer of a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
We come to this place… for magic.
We come to the theater to laugh, to cry, to care.
Because we need that, all of us:
that indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim,
and we go somewhere we've never been before;
not just entertained, but somehow reborn.... together.
Dazzling images, on a huge silver screen.
Sound that I can feel.
Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.
Our heroes feel like the best part of us,
and stories feel perfect and powerful.
Because here...
They are.
Lovely slice of life story from Alexander Payne. Simple, humble, and elegant reminder that everyone we encounter is fighting their own battles, and that we rarely know what they are. I found this to be a gentle ode to compassion, very well acted, and written and directed with quiet wisdom. Highly recommended.
