A Hidden Life is a slow paced, poetic, philosophical, visually stunning and overtly political - on the verge of being controversial - movie in that it is pro-pacifist rather than anti-fascist. It's easy to submit to fear and hate in order to (re)gain a sense of control of one's world. In the movie, Franz can't tell who is evil and who is good: all he can do, is hang on to his own principles of right and wrong. Because without them, what else is there to define him as a human and a person? Or, as one of the other characters says (if I remember the quote correctly): "Don't they recognize evil when they see it?" Maybe a tad too long, but that's just about it. Other than that, this is just as it should be.