A husband and wife lay side by side in the long grass of the plentiful fields of their land as sunlight gently brushes over their smiling faces and joyful eyes. They silently listen to the sweet sound of their children laughing in harmony with the birds singing, until the thundering sound of the distant church tower disrupts their sweet sound of life. The film A Hidden Life represents a true story of a couple who demonstrate unwavering love, trust, sacrifice, and commitment to each other through a difficult time, therefore representing a modern example of God’s ultimate love and grace as depicted in several different accounts of biblical text. World War II and Hiter’s reign had unfathomable impacts on humanity, and the story of Franz and Franziska Jaggerstatter represents true resilience as they make incredible sacrifices to maintain moral integrity and spiritual commitment during this troubling period of history. The words and actions of Franz and Franziska parallel biblical teachings of marriage and the resilience of love, demonstrating the unity of marriage as represented in the biblical Book of Genesis stating “a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Today in modern society, divorce and separation affects a significant fraction of the human population, and the story of Franz and Franziska serves as a powerful example of marriage, symbolizing several characteristics of true love.
Franz and Franziska work side by side as they perform difficult labor together in their fields within the towering mountains surrounding them. They work tirelessly together, completing chores, harvesting crops, and caring for their children; but amongst this great labor and effort, there is sweet laughter and playfulness as they run through their fields together. The opening scenes of A Hidden Life depict the genuine love between a husband and wife as they create a life of joy and happiness together, therefore symbolizing biblical teachings that describe the state of bliss when an individual is in love. The busy life of Frans and Franziska does not get in the way of their time for each other as there is constant banter between them, and they transform simple everyday chores into family games and fun. Franziska expresses “it seemed no trouble could reach our valley, we lived above the clouds” (7:33). This language that Franziska uses has both a literal and figurative meaning as she describes their physical life elevated in the mountains of Austria among the clouds, but also in a symbolic sense, she is describing the state of mind that she and Franz live in, together. The specific words “above the clouds” represents the idea that they live in an angelic state of peace, almost like a dream. As time progresses, realizations of the outside world begin invading their valley as they start to notice planes flying overhead and the mailman working overtime, delivering mail frantically on his bike. The distant church bell rings and echoes throughout their valley, drowning out the sounds of the birds and the children’s laughter.
The scene switches to an ENNS military base in 1940 where Franz completes his required training for the progressing war (10:07-10:16). The specific scene of Franz refusing to stab the dummy with his weapon reveals his concealed opposing attitude for violence and the war (11:38-12:03). This scene ultimately foreshadows Franz’s reluctance to surrender to Hitler propaganda because he believes in his heart that it is morally wrong. Franz also does not clap at the conclusion of the Hitler film shown to them at the military base, also supporting this notion (14:20-14:23). As Franz experiences this training far from home, Franziska sends him letters and tells him that their home feels empty without him (12:20-13:20). She signs the letter “your loving wife, Frani” which represents her love and support for her husband during this time of separation (13:50-14:06).
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