First Trailer for Terrence Malick's 'A Hidden Life' Starring August Diehl

"If our leaders, if they are evil, what does one do?" Fox Searchlight has unveiled the first official trailer for the new Terrence Malick film titled A Hidden Life (originally known as Radegund while in production). This premiered at the Cannes Film Festival playing in competition this summer, but didn't win any awards. Set during World War II in Austria, the film follows a local farmer who refuses to fight for the Nazis after they take over and annex Austria. The nearly-three-hour-long film follows Franz Jägerstätter, played by August Diehl, as the Nazis come to power and he is eventually thrown in jail for refusing to take the Hitler oath. The cast includes Valerie Pachner (also seen in The Ground Beneath My Feet), Michael Nyqvist, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jürgen Prochnow, Bruno Ganz, Alexander Fehling, Ulrich Matthes, and Karl Markovics. This film is gorgeous and has plenty of ideas to consider that clearly connect to today, but runs on a bit too long (read my full review). That said, I still recommend it and this trailer sells it perfectly.

Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life, from FSL's YouTube:

Based on real events, A Hidden Life is the story of an unsung hero, Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. When the Austrian peasant farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, it is his unwavering faith and his love for his wife, Fani, and children that keeps his spirit alive. A Hidden Life is both written and directed by prolific American filmmaker Terrence Malick, director of the films Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World, The Tree of Life, To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, and Song to Song previously. It's produced by Elisabeth Bentley, Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, and Josh Jeter; co-produced by Jini Durr. With music by James Newton Howard, cinematography by Jörg Widmer. This premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year (read our review). Fox Searchlight will release Malick's A Hidden Life in select US theaters starting December 13th.