Right from its opening moments, Austrian director Elisabeth Scharang’s Woodland is visually arresting, commanding one’s attention. Which is fortunate as the film is light on dialogue and primarily concerns the isolating experience of a woman living alone in wooded country. Through jagged memories that pierce the placid exterior of the film and our protagonist, we uncover the buried traumas and demons she is running away from. Or running towards, as it turns out. In her native hometown, a reckoning awaits her, that just might set her free.
Adapted from Doris Knecht’s novel Wald and inspired by Scharang’s personal experience, Woodland charts Marian’s (Brigitte Hobmeier) return to the small agrarian town she grew up in. She sets up camp in her abandoned family home––cobwebbed, without electricity, and freezing––and only occasionally charges her cell phone at the local pub. Her desire to disconnect from the world seems paramount.
Adapted from Doris Knecht’s novel Wald and inspired by Scharang’s personal experience, Woodland charts Marian’s (Brigitte Hobmeier) return to the small agrarian town she grew up in. She sets up camp in her abandoned family home––cobwebbed, without electricity, and freezing––and only occasionally charges her cell phone at the local pub. Her desire to disconnect from the world seems paramount.
- 9/25/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Film Stage
Berlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has picked up “Woodland” (“Wald”), written and directed by Elisabeth Scharang, which has its world premiere in the Centrepiece section at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film’s trailer has also just been launched.
Picture Tree Intl. also handled world sales on Scharang’s sophomore feature film, “Jack,” which also played at Toronto.
“Woodland” is inspired by the novel “Wald” from bestselling author Doris Knecht, and the personal experience of Scharang, who witnessed the attack of a terrorist shooter in Vienna in 2020 in which four people were killed and 23 others were injured. The film marks Scharang’s second collaboration with Dop Jörg Widmer, who is a frequent collaborator with Terrence Malick.
Brigitte Hobmeier as Marian Malin in “Woodland”
In “Woodland,” Marian Malin (Brigitte Hobmeier) has everything she could wish for — a passion, a job and love — until she and her husband (Bogdan Dumitrache...
Picture Tree Intl. also handled world sales on Scharang’s sophomore feature film, “Jack,” which also played at Toronto.
“Woodland” is inspired by the novel “Wald” from bestselling author Doris Knecht, and the personal experience of Scharang, who witnessed the attack of a terrorist shooter in Vienna in 2020 in which four people were killed and 23 others were injured. The film marks Scharang’s second collaboration with Dop Jörg Widmer, who is a frequent collaborator with Terrence Malick.
Brigitte Hobmeier as Marian Malin in “Woodland”
In “Woodland,” Marian Malin (Brigitte Hobmeier) has everything she could wish for — a passion, a job and love — until she and her husband (Bogdan Dumitrache...
- 8/10/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
There’s something to fall head-over-heels for about daring reimaginations of formidable classics—the deceitfully “simpler” the source, the more pressure on the adaptation to bring out its colors. Isn’t it practically an inexplicable branch of evolution that even those of us not thoroughly familiar with Georges Bizet’s opera and Prosper Mérrimée’s prose of the same name can immediately associate the name Carmen with the color red? Red is what Jörg Widmer smears on each of his symbolism-soaked frames that speak the unspoken about the nymph-like poem manifested as an immigrant woman. And for the faithful portrayal of the odd fairytale lover worthy of beholding her with the eyes that betray his pain, Benjamin Millepied entrusts the reins to Nicholas Britell’s haunting score, which is as much a protagonist as Carmen and Aiden.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘Carmen’?
Millepied’s relatively less tumultuous...
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘Carmen’?
Millepied’s relatively less tumultuous...
- 7/16/2023
- by Lopamudra Mukherjee
- Film Fugitives
Filmmakers Sergei Spirin and Andrei Beresnev’s spiritual drama Iyov follows a lone individual named Job who, in the aftermath of a profound loss, searches for meaning as he battles depression. Visually, the co-directors evoke the work of Emmanuel Lubezki, whose awe-inspiring wide-lensed work with Terrence Malick and Alejandro Iñárritu similarly draws upon profound philosophical themes, with characters negotiating their place amongst immense environments. Spirin and Beresnev’s tale sees Job’s journey throughout several stunning locations across Georgia, highlighting the beauty of the world he struggles to remain a part of. Dn is delighted to premiere Iyov on our pages today and joined Spirin and Beresnev for a comprehensive conversation about their journey creating the film, covering the personal story of loss that inspired it, the inspiration of Lubezki and Malick, and their working approach to creating beautiful cinematography.
What drew you to tell this story of a man...
What drew you to tell this story of a man...
- 6/5/2023
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
As written by the legendary French composer Georges Bizet, the 19th-century opera “Carmen” has a classic femme fatale at its heart: a fiery, free-spirited and seductive woman headed for her inevitable demise through the downfall of a former lover. So take it with a grain of salt upon hearing the title “Carmen,” in this case a beautiful, dreamlike and defiantly experimental film directed by Benjamin Millepied.
Yes, the tragedy, beauty, love, and passion that define Bizet’s exquisite late Romantic-era masterpiece are all in here in Millepied’s directorial debut. But Millepied’s runaway Carmen, as imagined by writers Loïc Barrere, Alexander Dinelaris and Lisa Loomer, is not so much a doomed temptress archetype as a freedom-hungry firebrand in search of her voice and identity.
In that regard, it would be unfair to claim that Millepied’s “Carmen” is an adaptation of Bizet’s timeless story. In fact, the director...
Yes, the tragedy, beauty, love, and passion that define Bizet’s exquisite late Romantic-era masterpiece are all in here in Millepied’s directorial debut. But Millepied’s runaway Carmen, as imagined by writers Loïc Barrere, Alexander Dinelaris and Lisa Loomer, is not so much a doomed temptress archetype as a freedom-hungry firebrand in search of her voice and identity.
In that regard, it would be unfair to claim that Millepied’s “Carmen” is an adaptation of Bizet’s timeless story. In fact, the director...
- 4/21/2023
- by Tomris Laffly
- The Wrap
“Carmen” didn’t begin life as an opera: French Romantic writer Prosper Mérimée conceived this tale of Spanish passion and tragic jealousy in 1845, thirty years before his compatriot Georges Bizet brought it into its best-known, aria-rich form. But it’s a story that thrives on operatic delivery, hinging on emotions so large and loud they beg to be sung at the top of one’s lungs. That makes it the opera that filmmakers can’t leave alone, even as they tend to switch out the music: Its screen interpretations range from Otto Preminger’s Broadway-rooted “Carmen Jones” to Jean-Luc Godard’s daring, Beethoven-infused “First Name: Carmen” to Robert Townsend’s Beyoncé-starring “Carmen: A Hip-Hopera.” With the plainly titled “Carmen,” ballet star and first-time feature director Benjamin Millepied joins that club, mostly eschewing song in an attempt to conjure the material’s intensity through dance. He is only intermittently successful.
- 4/21/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Opera lovers flock to performances in order to be thrilled, aroused, overjoyed, moved to tears. Ditto disciples of dance, musical-theater fanatics, and — the worst, most masochistic, and unrepentant art-rush addicts of them all — moviegoers. Georges Bizet’s Carmen shocked audiences when it premiered in 1875 in Paris; eventually, his story of a Spanish soldier and a Roma traveler would become a staple of repertory companies and one of the best-known operas of all time. (Hum the opening notes of this, and at least one person will break into their best Beverly Sills impression.
- 4/19/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Chemistry is important on and off the black-and-white pages of a screenplay with a romantic story at its core. Benjamin Millepied extracts every ounce of it from the paper and fills every inch of the screen with it in his feature film debut. Carmen is deeply felt, but it’s a tad too narratively lacking to carry those feelings for very long after the credits are finished rolling.
‘Carmen’ re-imagines a classic opera L-r: Melissa Barrera as Carmen and Paul Mescal as Aidan | Sony Pictures Classics
Carmen (Melissa Barrera) searches for freedom in a re-imagining of Loïc Barrère’s opera. She must flee from the Mexican desert that she’s accustomed to and search out her mother’s longtime friend for help. However, Carmen encounters the U.S. Border Patrol once she crosses into Texas, who are searching for anybody to unleash their violent hatred upon.
Along the way, she...
‘Carmen’ re-imagines a classic opera L-r: Melissa Barrera as Carmen and Paul Mescal as Aidan | Sony Pictures Classics
Carmen (Melissa Barrera) searches for freedom in a re-imagining of Loïc Barrère’s opera. She must flee from the Mexican desert that she’s accustomed to and search out her mother’s longtime friend for help. However, Carmen encounters the U.S. Border Patrol once she crosses into Texas, who are searching for anybody to unleash their violent hatred upon.
Along the way, she...
- 4/18/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
It feels like a treatment from the Victorian Age: queer men and women being put under the horrors of gay conversion therapy, which, despite various legal regulations, persists to this day in many different countries across Europe. German Director Manuel Tröndle’s Mending takes an in-depth yet poetic look at how these barbaric treatments, deeply rooted in Christian teachings, can alter the very bones of who you are, resulting in a moving and empowering film. Taking the time to avoid simplistic diagnoses and trite conclusions in favour of an enigmatic portrait of queer lives under pressure from the church, it is a rewarding experience buoyed by the powerful music of collaborators Melting Palms. Dn jumped at the opportunity to talk to Tröndle about the reality of conversion therapy in Germany, making a ‘music film’ as opposed to a ‘music video’, and working slowly but surely in creating the final, devastating montage.
- 9/21/2022
- by Redmond Bacon
- Directors Notes
Click here to read the full article.
Benjamin Millepied’s Carmen is a strange film. Inspired by Bizet’s opera, the French choreographer in his first feature as director has created an experimental fever dream set in the desert lands of the United States-Mexico border. Due for release from Sony Pictures Classics in 2023, it’s an unsteady composition, a frenzied combination of willowy movement pieces, an ecstatic score and a too-loose narrative.
The film follows the improbable love story of Carmen (Melissa Barrera, In the Heights), a Mexican woman trying to cross the border, and Aiden (Paul Mescal, Aftersun), an American veteran struggling to adjust to civilian life. Thrown together by plaintive circumstances, the two find themselves running from the police toward a new life.
In a director’s statement given to critics, Millepied severs his film from the influential opera. This is not a reinterpretation of Bizet’s Carmen,...
Benjamin Millepied’s Carmen is a strange film. Inspired by Bizet’s opera, the French choreographer in his first feature as director has created an experimental fever dream set in the desert lands of the United States-Mexico border. Due for release from Sony Pictures Classics in 2023, it’s an unsteady composition, a frenzied combination of willowy movement pieces, an ecstatic score and a too-loose narrative.
The film follows the improbable love story of Carmen (Melissa Barrera, In the Heights), a Mexican woman trying to cross the border, and Aiden (Paul Mescal, Aftersun), an American veteran struggling to adjust to civilian life. Thrown together by plaintive circumstances, the two find themselves running from the police toward a new life.
In a director’s statement given to critics, Millepied severs his film from the influential opera. This is not a reinterpretation of Bizet’s Carmen,...
- 9/16/2022
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Carmen” is many things: a novella (by Prosper Mérimée) inspired by a Pushkin poem (“The Gypsies”); a classic Bizet opera inspired by that novella; an archetype wrought by said opera of the sexy, fearless and feared woman; and countless interpreted films, from Cecil B. DeMille’s silent saga to Otto Preminger’s adaptation of the all-Black musical to Carlos Saura’s flamenco masterpiece.
Now comes what French-born choreographer and first-time feature director Benjamin Millepied (he who choreographed “Black Swan”) is calling his “Carmen” from a parallel universe, an original modern-day drama with music and dance set on the U.S./Mexico border, with its same-named protagonist reimagined as a headstrong Mexican immigrant fleeing violence, seeking sanctuary, falling for an American Marine and — what else? — finding herself.
Mostly, though, Millepied’s debut — premiering at the Toronto Film Festival and featuring rising star Melissa Barrera (in the title role) and Irish actor...
Now comes what French-born choreographer and first-time feature director Benjamin Millepied (he who choreographed “Black Swan”) is calling his “Carmen” from a parallel universe, an original modern-day drama with music and dance set on the U.S./Mexico border, with its same-named protagonist reimagined as a headstrong Mexican immigrant fleeing violence, seeking sanctuary, falling for an American Marine and — what else? — finding herself.
Mostly, though, Millepied’s debut — premiering at the Toronto Film Festival and featuring rising star Melissa Barrera (in the title role) and Irish actor...
- 9/11/2022
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
‘Normal People’ star Paul Mescal will play the male lead in Benjamin Millepied’s film “Carmen,” a modern-day reimagining of one of the world’s most celebrated operas. Mescal will star opposite Melissa Barrera (“Vida”), who will play the titular role of Carmen.
Mescal replaces “Fifty Shades” star Jamie Dornan, who was previously attached to the role.
“Carmen” will mark the feature debut of Millepied, a former principal dancer from the New York City Ballet who choreographed Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.”
The adaptation was penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris Jr (“Birdman”), together with Millepied and Loic Barrère.
Dimitri Rassam is financing and producing via his banner Chapter 2, a Mediawan company, together with Rosemary Blight at Goalpost Pictures, one of Australia’s most dynamic independent film companies. TF1 Studio is co-producing and handling worldwide sales.
The movie will start shooting on Jan. 18 in Australia for seven weeks. Goalpost Pictures will handle the production locally.
Mescal replaces “Fifty Shades” star Jamie Dornan, who was previously attached to the role.
“Carmen” will mark the feature debut of Millepied, a former principal dancer from the New York City Ballet who choreographed Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.”
The adaptation was penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris Jr (“Birdman”), together with Millepied and Loic Barrère.
Dimitri Rassam is financing and producing via his banner Chapter 2, a Mediawan company, together with Rosemary Blight at Goalpost Pictures, one of Australia’s most dynamic independent film companies. TF1 Studio is co-producing and handling worldwide sales.
The movie will start shooting on Jan. 18 in Australia for seven weeks. Goalpost Pictures will handle the production locally.
- 11/11/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
At one point in The Book of Vision, a young woman spins around in ecstasy, arms spread wide like a whirling dervish, before falling to the grass. The D.P. has the camera eagerly follow her at waist height. It’s shot Steadicam and the lens is wide-angle. The cinematographer is Jörg Widmer, who recently shot A Hidden Life and has worked behind the camera in varying capacities in each of the director Terrence Malick’s films since The New World. At a glance, this spinning girl could have been plucked from any one of those movies. A closer look reveals it’s not a girl exactly but a subtly digitized image of one, as are the clouds and the trees.
The Book of Vision is the debut feature of Carlo Hintermann, a director whose work has never strayed too far from the reclusive Texan’s sphere. At the age...
The Book of Vision is the debut feature of Carlo Hintermann, a director whose work has never strayed too far from the reclusive Texan’s sphere. At the age...
- 9/5/2020
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
The first major in-person-only film festival to get underway during the pandemic, plans are full steam ahead for Venice Film Festival to kick off this week, taking place September 2 through September 12. While the lineup surely would’ve looked definitely if it was a standard year, festival director Alberto Barbera and team have delivered an impressive-looking slate of premieres. Ahead of our coverage from the festival (which you can follow here), we’ve rounded up our most-anticipated films.
The Book of Vision (Carlo Hintermann)
Executive produced by Terrence Malick, Carlo Hintermann’s The Book of Vision explores a doctor-patient relationship seen through the eyes of a female medical student named Eva as we jump between the present and the 18th century. Led by Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Lotte Verbeek (Outlander), and Sverrir Gudnason (Borg/McEnroe), the first intriguing trailer showcases beautiful cinematography from Jörg Widmer (A Hidden Life) and extravagant production design from David Crank.
The Book of Vision (Carlo Hintermann)
Executive produced by Terrence Malick, Carlo Hintermann’s The Book of Vision explores a doctor-patient relationship seen through the eyes of a female medical student named Eva as we jump between the present and the 18th century. Led by Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Lotte Verbeek (Outlander), and Sverrir Gudnason (Borg/McEnroe), the first intriguing trailer showcases beautiful cinematography from Jörg Widmer (A Hidden Life) and extravagant production design from David Crank.
- 8/31/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With this year’s edition of Telluride Film Festival canceled, the first major film festival to get underway this fall will be Venice––one of the places hardest hit by the pandemic. While it will be a smaller festival, as expected, this year, things are moving ahead. After just announcing that Tilda Swinton & Ann Hui will receive Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Awards, we now have the first trailer for one of our most-anticipated films in the Critics’ Week sidebar.
The Book of Vision is an English-language period drama directed by Italian helmer Carlo Hintermann and is executive produced by Terrence Malick. Starring Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Lotte Verbeek (Outlander), and Sverrir Gudnason (Borg/McEnroe), the film explores a doctor-patient relationship as seen through the eyes of a female medical student named Eva (Verbeek) as we jump between the present and the 18th century.
Marking the narrative directorial debut of Hintermann,...
The Book of Vision is an English-language period drama directed by Italian helmer Carlo Hintermann and is executive produced by Terrence Malick. Starring Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Lotte Verbeek (Outlander), and Sverrir Gudnason (Borg/McEnroe), the film explores a doctor-patient relationship as seen through the eyes of a female medical student named Eva (Verbeek) as we jump between the present and the 18th century.
Marking the narrative directorial debut of Hintermann,...
- 7/20/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
If we had to place a bet, we’re still at least a year or two away from Terrence Malick’s next film The Last Planet, which is currently in post-production, but the director is still backing new projects in the meantime. The Book of Vision is an English-language period drama directed by Italian helmer Carlo Hintermann and is executive produced by the Song to Song director.
Starring star Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Lotte Verbeek (Outlander), and Sverrir Gudnason (Borg/McEnroe), the film explores a doctor-patient relationship as seen through the eyes of a female medical student named Eva (Verbeek) as we jump between the present and the 18th century. Marking the narrative directorial debut of Hintermann, who previously helmed documentaries and even worked on The Tree of Life, cinematography is from Jörg Widmer (A Hidden Life) and production design is from David Crank.
Described as a mix of...
Starring star Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Lotte Verbeek (Outlander), and Sverrir Gudnason (Borg/McEnroe), the film explores a doctor-patient relationship as seen through the eyes of a female medical student named Eva (Verbeek) as we jump between the present and the 18th century. Marking the narrative directorial debut of Hintermann, who previously helmed documentaries and even worked on The Tree of Life, cinematography is from Jörg Widmer (A Hidden Life) and production design is from David Crank.
Described as a mix of...
- 7/7/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Book of Vision to open the Venice Critics’ Week - Venice 2020 - International Film Critics’ Week
The visionary work by Carlo S Hinterman, with executive production by Terrence Malick, will open the 35th edition of the Venice Film Festival's sidebar. The Book of Vision by Carlo S Hintermann will officially open the 35th edition of the Venice International Film Critics’ Week, the sidebar section organised by the Union of Italian Film Critics (Sncci) within the 77th Venice International Film Festival. The visionary work by Hintermann, his first fiction feature after a few documentaries, features executive production by Terrence Malick, and tells the story of a fascinating journey between past and present, life and death, the deepest sorrow and unconditional love. The film stars an international cast: Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Lotte Verbeek, Sverrir Gudnason (Borg/McEnroe), Isolda Dychauk and Filippo Nigro (The Goddess of Fortune). The cinematographer is Jörg Widmer, one of the most celebrated in Europe, who has worked with...
Terrence Malick has one of the most intriguing — and influential — approaches to cinematic storytelling of any director working today. His process is also one that has evolved over the years. In the 38 years prior to “The Tree of Life,” he has made only four feature films. In the eight years since 2011, the 76-year old director has released four more features, along with a documentary, “Voyage of Time.”
And since Malick doesn’t do interviews, his close collaborators are tasked with explaining his process. IndieWire recently sat down with the two lead actors on his most recent film “A Hidden Life,” Valerie Pachner and August Diehl, and the film’s cinematographer Jörg Widmer. While this was the first Malick project for Widmer as cinematographer, he was the steadicam operator and second unit cinematographer under Emmanuel Lubezki on all of Malick’s films dating back to 2005’s “The New World.”
Malick cast Pachner early on,...
And since Malick doesn’t do interviews, his close collaborators are tasked with explaining his process. IndieWire recently sat down with the two lead actors on his most recent film “A Hidden Life,” Valerie Pachner and August Diehl, and the film’s cinematographer Jörg Widmer. While this was the first Malick project for Widmer as cinematographer, he was the steadicam operator and second unit cinematographer under Emmanuel Lubezki on all of Malick’s films dating back to 2005’s “The New World.”
Malick cast Pachner early on,...
- 1/6/2020
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
“A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist–moving an audience through a movie […] making them think the way you want them to think, painting pictures in the dark,” said the late, great Gordon Willis. As we continue our year-end coverage, one aspect we must highlight is, indeed, cinematography. From talented newcomers to seasoned professionals, we’ve rounded up the examples that have most impressed us this year. Check out our rundown below and, in the comments, let us know your favorite work.
Ad Astra (Hoyte Van Hoytema)
After conducting a symphony of the senses with The Lost City of Z, director James Gray moves effortlessly from jungles and rivers to the far reaches of space. Working with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (who also lensed Interstellar), Gray photographs a man’s journey to find his father in the abyss with elegance and finesse. Like many of the great odysseys, Ad Astra is both grand and intimate,...
Ad Astra (Hoyte Van Hoytema)
After conducting a symphony of the senses with The Lost City of Z, director James Gray moves effortlessly from jungles and rivers to the far reaches of space. Working with cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (who also lensed Interstellar), Gray photographs a man’s journey to find his father in the abyss with elegance and finesse. Like many of the great odysseys, Ad Astra is both grand and intimate,...
- 1/2/2020
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
A version of this story about “A Hidden Life” first appeared in the Oscar Nominations Preview issue of TheWrap’s Oscar magazine.
Jörg Widmer has worked with director Terrence Malick on seven movies dating back to 2005’s “The New World,” but “A Hidden Life” is the first time he’s served as director of photography rather than as a camera operator for Malick’s usual cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki. That history meant that Widmer knew what to expect — long takes, natural light, a limited set of lenses — going into “A Hidden Life,” the rapturous chronicle of Austrian conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter, who was executed by the Nazis for refusing to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler in World War II.
“It was kind of easy, because we know each other,” Widmer said of stepping into the D.P. role to achieve Malick’s typically gorgeous and mystical look. “The difference was that...
Jörg Widmer has worked with director Terrence Malick on seven movies dating back to 2005’s “The New World,” but “A Hidden Life” is the first time he’s served as director of photography rather than as a camera operator for Malick’s usual cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki. That history meant that Widmer knew what to expect — long takes, natural light, a limited set of lenses — going into “A Hidden Life,” the rapturous chronicle of Austrian conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter, who was executed by the Nazis for refusing to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler in World War II.
“It was kind of easy, because we know each other,” Widmer said of stepping into the D.P. role to achieve Malick’s typically gorgeous and mystical look. “The difference was that...
- 12/19/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
At this point, Terrence Malick is a known entity. You’re either in or you’re out when it comes to his style of filmmaking. Sadly, despite my best efforts, I’m decidedly out. A Hidden Life takes all of Malick’s worst instincts, some of his best, and mixes them together in an epic run time that became utterly punishing to endure. Amazing visuals and a sense of wonder only take you so far, especially when this has become par for the course for this particular storyteller. At about 80 minutes, this film would have been sparse and only mildly off-putting in its inscrutable nature. However, at about 180, it’s positively tortuous. Opening this week, Malick fans only need apply here. The movie is a biographical drama set during the early days of World War II. Taking place in Austria, this is the story of the country’s most well known conscientious objector.
- 12/12/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
“Basically it’s a Greek tragedy,” explains “A Hidden Life” cinematographer Jörg Widmer about the tragic story of “A Hidden Life.” “Franz doesn’t have a choice: he either goes to war and dies … or he sticks to his beliefs and goes to be executed.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Widmer above.
Directed by Terrence Malick, the film tells the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who refused to fight for the Nazis and was ultimately executed for his disobedience. In 2007 he was declared a religious martyr and beatified by the Catholic Church. “[Malick] wanted to make a movie about some people who are heroes but never would be remembered as heroes in the big picture of history,” says Widmer.
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As usual for Malick, the approach to this film was “very much about the visual, and it’s...
Directed by Terrence Malick, the film tells the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who refused to fight for the Nazis and was ultimately executed for his disobedience. In 2007 he was declared a religious martyr and beatified by the Catholic Church. “[Malick] wanted to make a movie about some people who are heroes but never would be remembered as heroes in the big picture of history,” says Widmer.
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As usual for Malick, the approach to this film was “very much about the visual, and it’s...
- 11/26/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: The Hobbit and Poldark star Aidan Turner is the latest name to join Terrence Malick’s starry, under-the-radar life of Christ movie The Last Planet. Turner will play the Apostle Andrew.
Snippets have been seeping out over the last few months about the project, which will tell the story of Christ’s life through a series of parables. Pic has been shooting in Italy.
Son of Saul star Geza Rohrig will play Jesus, Matthias Schoenaerts will portray Apostle Peter, and Mark Rylance will be Satan. We understand the cast also includes Joseph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Douglas Booth, Tawfeek Barhom, Martin McCann, Ori Pfeffer, Shadi Mar’i, Makram Khoury, Numan Acar, Emilio De Marchi, Bjorn Thors, Alfonso Postiglione and Lorenzo Gioielli.
Speaking at the Deauville film festival this month, Rylance told the Guardian, “Terry wrote four versions of the character of Satan and I thought I would play only one.
Snippets have been seeping out over the last few months about the project, which will tell the story of Christ’s life through a series of parables. Pic has been shooting in Italy.
Son of Saul star Geza Rohrig will play Jesus, Matthias Schoenaerts will portray Apostle Peter, and Mark Rylance will be Satan. We understand the cast also includes Joseph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Douglas Booth, Tawfeek Barhom, Martin McCann, Ori Pfeffer, Shadi Mar’i, Makram Khoury, Numan Acar, Emilio De Marchi, Bjorn Thors, Alfonso Postiglione and Lorenzo Gioielli.
Speaking at the Deauville film festival this month, Rylance told the Guardian, “Terry wrote four versions of the character of Satan and I thought I would play only one.
- 9/26/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Terrence Malick returns this year with A Hidden Life, which follows Austria’s Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), a conscientious objector who was put to death at the age of 36 for undermining military actions. Shot by cinematographer Jörg Widmer, his work can be seen in the gorgeous first trailer, which Fox Searchlight has debuted ahead of a Tiff screening and December release.
Leonardo Goi said in his review, “Shot in gorgeous wide-angles by Jörg Widmer, Hidden Life feels like a return to more linear, traditional narratives for a director whose last four 2010s narrative works (from The Tree of Life to Song to Song) had toyed with more labyrinthine, multi-layered scaffoldings. Clocking at a whopping 173 minutes, it is Malick’s longest work to date (director’s cuts excluded), but also his structurally most accessible.”
Also starring Valerie Pachner, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Jürgen Prochnow, as well as the late Michael Nyqvist and Bruno Ganz,...
Leonardo Goi said in his review, “Shot in gorgeous wide-angles by Jörg Widmer, Hidden Life feels like a return to more linear, traditional narratives for a director whose last four 2010s narrative works (from The Tree of Life to Song to Song) had toyed with more labyrinthine, multi-layered scaffoldings. Clocking at a whopping 173 minutes, it is Malick’s longest work to date (director’s cuts excluded), but also his structurally most accessible.”
Also starring Valerie Pachner, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Jürgen Prochnow, as well as the late Michael Nyqvist and Bruno Ganz,...
- 8/13/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
When Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) glances skyward and calls for God to show him a sign, to guide him, what does he hear? The rumbling of a thunderstorm hovering atop the Alps surrounding his bucolic hometown of St Radegund; the sound of the wind caressing the wheat fields around the village; the voice of his wife Fani (Valerie Pachner) and their three little girls. And then, once World War II breaks out and jettisons him in a dim-light world of military prisons and court tribunals, it’s the sound of broken limbs and bodies thudding on floors; the echo of air raid sirens; the loud bang of gunshots. In a body of work infused with the question of faith, mankind’s distance and proximity to God has never felt as pressing a concern as it does in A Hidden Life, a period piece homing in on the real-life...
- 5/20/2019
- by Leonardo Goi
- The Film Stage
Are you ready to see .0014% of the new film by Terrence Malick? Ahead of the world premiere of A Hidden Life at Cannes Film Festival on May 19, as part of an Opening Day package Canal+ aired the first clip from the 173-minute film, clocking in at a brief 15 seconds. Still, when it comes to our most-anticipated of the festival, we’ll take what we can get.
A Hidden Life follows Austria’s Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), a conscientious objector who was put to death at the age of 36 for undermining military actions. In the first clip, we get the first glimpse of cinematographer Jörg Widmer as he uses a wide-angle lens to capture a lover’s embrace, also featuring Valerie Pachner.
Also starring Valerie Pachner, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Jürgen Prochnow, as well as the late Michael Nyqvist and Bruno Ganz, check out the clip below courtesy of Canal+ and One Big Soul.
A Hidden Life follows Austria’s Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), a conscientious objector who was put to death at the age of 36 for undermining military actions. In the first clip, we get the first glimpse of cinematographer Jörg Widmer as he uses a wide-angle lens to capture a lover’s embrace, also featuring Valerie Pachner.
Also starring Valerie Pachner, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Jürgen Prochnow, as well as the late Michael Nyqvist and Bruno Ganz, check out the clip below courtesy of Canal+ and One Big Soul.
- 5/14/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Cuba has just been opened up to Americans, but twenty years ago musician Ry Cooder saw to it that a vanishing music tradition was preserved for posterity. Wim Wenders followed up with this rough & ready documentary that became almost as popular as the best selling album of mambos, boleros and cha-chas.
Buena Vista Social Club
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 866
1999 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 105 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date April 18, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa, Ry Cooder, Joachim Cooder, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Rubén González, Orlando ‘Cachaíto’ López, Amadito Valdés, Manuel ‘Guajiro’ Mirabal, Barbarito Torres, Pío Leyva, Manuel ‘Puntillita’ Licea, Juan de Marcos González.
Cinematography: Jörg Widmer
Film Editor: Brian Johnson
Written by Wim Wenders, concept Nick Gold
Produced by Deepak Nayar
Directed by Wim Wenders
Looking for something new and invigorating, in the late 1980s Paul Simon collaborated with South African vocalists for a refreshing pop hybrid album...
Buena Vista Social Club
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 866
1999 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 105 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date April 18, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa, Ry Cooder, Joachim Cooder, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Rubén González, Orlando ‘Cachaíto’ López, Amadito Valdés, Manuel ‘Guajiro’ Mirabal, Barbarito Torres, Pío Leyva, Manuel ‘Puntillita’ Licea, Juan de Marcos González.
Cinematography: Jörg Widmer
Film Editor: Brian Johnson
Written by Wim Wenders, concept Nick Gold
Produced by Deepak Nayar
Directed by Wim Wenders
Looking for something new and invigorating, in the late 1980s Paul Simon collaborated with South African vocalists for a refreshing pop hybrid album...
- 4/18/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Song to Song” isn’t the only new Terrence Malick movie premiering this year. Though both its title and release date could change — and, this being Malick, neither would be a surprise — “Radegund” is currently set to make its festival debut sometime in 2017. A return to World War II for the “Thin Red Line” writer/director, the film is based on the life of Franz Jägerstätter.
Read More: Terrence Malick’s ‘Song to Song’ Will Open SXSW 2017: See Expanded Lineup
Here’s the premise: “Opening at Jägerstätter’s home in the idyllic Austrian countryside, Radegund (working title) follows Franz (August Diehl) and his beloved wife, Fani (Valerie Pachner), along their remarkable path of resistance. Told through real wartime letters, this stirring love story finds the couple in conflict with the members of their close-knit town, their church, their government, and even their friends — all of which brings them to a dramatic choice.
Read More: Terrence Malick’s ‘Song to Song’ Will Open SXSW 2017: See Expanded Lineup
Here’s the premise: “Opening at Jägerstätter’s home in the idyllic Austrian countryside, Radegund (working title) follows Franz (August Diehl) and his beloved wife, Fani (Valerie Pachner), along their remarkable path of resistance. Told through real wartime letters, this stirring love story finds the couple in conflict with the members of their close-knit town, their church, their government, and even their friends — all of which brings them to a dramatic choice.
- 1/24/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Wim Wenders’ long imagined a Pina Bausch documentary with Bausch herself, a dear friend of the director, personally collaborating on the project. It was originally conceived as a way to solidify the legendary modern dance choreographer’s most iconic pieces in visual stasis, but Wenders believed the traditional film form was not capable of capturing or communicating the visual information found within the ethereal movements of dance – that was until the latest technical advancements in three dimensional proved to be a worthy conduit between mediums. With all the conceived necessities finally in place, profound tragedy struck with Pina’s sudden passing just days before the film was scheduled to shoot. Two years later, with heavy hearts and performers’ wills, Wenders and Pina’s devoted Tanztheater Wuppertal dance company moved forward with the production of Pina. The resulting cinematic memorial is a visually luscious physical eulogy of consummate catharsis that lives on stage,...
- 2/12/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Updated through 6/7.
In yesterday's Los Angeles Times, John Horn and Steven Zeitchik report on the uphill battle Fox Searchlight will be fighting this summer as they roll out Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life from just four theaters this weekend in New York and Los Angeles to eight more cities next week, all the way to 200 by the July 4 holiday weekend. In short, they realize that Brad Pitt and the Palme d'Or alone won't hack it. If marketing success were measured by the sheer bulk of critical coverage, though — and, Lord knows, it isn't — the team could already be resting on its laurels.
Reverse Shot, for example, has spent all this past week with the film, running five essays in all. Here in The Notebook, we've had Daniel Kasman's first impressions from Cannes and, on Thursday, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky's (if you'll allow us) magnificent review. Both follow, of course,...
In yesterday's Los Angeles Times, John Horn and Steven Zeitchik report on the uphill battle Fox Searchlight will be fighting this summer as they roll out Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life from just four theaters this weekend in New York and Los Angeles to eight more cities next week, all the way to 200 by the July 4 holiday weekend. In short, they realize that Brad Pitt and the Palme d'Or alone won't hack it. If marketing success were measured by the sheer bulk of critical coverage, though — and, Lord knows, it isn't — the team could already be resting on its laurels.
Reverse Shot, for example, has spent all this past week with the film, running five essays in all. Here in The Notebook, we've had Daniel Kasman's first impressions from Cannes and, on Thursday, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky's (if you'll allow us) magnificent review. Both follow, of course,...
- 6/7/2011
- MUBI
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