Author ORCID Identifier
Abstract
Terrence Malick’s film A Hidden Life depicts the resistance of the Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter against the Nazi regime and its demands that he serve Nazi war aims and swear an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Unlike other resistance films set in Nazi Germany or the Greater German Reich, which depict resistors conspiring to overthrow the regime or actively working toward its downfall, A Hidden Life presents a man’s simple and emphatic “No” to the Nazi regime and its ideology. The film does not simply show how Jägerstätter said “No,” but reveals how he was able to say “No” in the first place, when all those around him, his countrymen and even members of his family, wanted him to acquiesce, give in, and serve the Nazi regime. This article will examine how Malick presents Jägerstätter as a man who had long walked the way of the cross, well before the action of the film begins. Jägerstätter was a man who cultivated his character through the spiritual disciplines of the Christian tradition, such as Scripture study, acts of service, contemplation, and prayer. These disciplines formed his character and enabled him to walk the way of the cross faithfully rather than turn, like so many others, to travel the Nazi path to destruction.
Recommended Citation
Skiles, William S.
(2025)
"A Hidden Life on the Way of the Cross: Terrence Malick and the Cultivation of Character,"
Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 29:
Iss.
1, Article 78.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol29/iss1/78
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
VolNum
29
Included in
Christianity Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, European History Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, History of Religion Commons
