Yes, this film tells a good story, has good acting, and is beautifully filmed, but it is overlong and becomes tedious. The story of a conscientious objector and outsider in greater Germany during World War II is very similar to 2013's "13 Minutes", which is told in a much tighter, traditional pace. I usually don't even know the director's name when I watch a film, but while watching this one, I couldn't help but notice similarities to the near-great but disappointing "The New World" from 2005. Lo and behold, both were directed by Malick, and both suffer from way too many long pauses in the dialogue. To pan around the countryside to show how idyllic a farm community is might work three or four times, but it happens maybe 25 times. Malick should have cut an hour and added connecting dialogue throughout.
Review of A Hidden Life
