+7
A Hidden Life (2019)
I know people have been pegging this as Mallick being back on form but it feels far too vague and wishy washy considering the subject matter. Yes the beautiful shots of the Austrian mountains are indeed
beautiful, but that doesn't really matter when you only have the good Germans speaking in a language the viewer can understand. Really reminded me of that segment in
Simularcra and Simulation when Baudrillard talks about how cinema erases history by, essentially, enforcing the Mandela effect. This is a very very beige look at Nazi Germany and we should aspire for much more critical insights into it. Yes there is a violent turn in the last 15 minutes, but even so this doesn't feel sufficiently critical. Really wanted to like this but alas, it disappoints.
Rating:
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