The film depicts the life of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer and devout Catholic who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II.

Austrian peasant farmer Franz Jägerstätter, born and brought up in the small village of St. Radegund, is working his land when war breaks out.

With his mother and sister-in-law Resie, he and his wife farm the land and raise their children amid the mountains and valleys of upper Austria, cutting hay and gathering.

Despite many opportunities to sign the oath of allegiance, and the promise of non-combatant work, he continues to refuse and is executed by the Third Reich on August 9, 1943, while his wife and daughters survive.

On June 23, 2016, reports emerged that the film, then titled Radegund, would depict the life of Austria's Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector during World War II who was put to death at age 36 for undermining military actions, and was later declared a martyr and beatified by the Catholic Church.

Locations there were the church of St. Valentin in Seis am Schlern, the valley of Gsies, the village of Rodeneck, the mills in Terenten, the meadows of Albions in Lajen, the Seiser Alm, the Taufers Castle, the Fane Alm in Mühlbach, the Puez-Geisler Nature Park, the renaissance Velthurns Castle in the village of Feldthurns, the Franzensfeste Fortress, the gardens of the bishop's Hofburg in Brixen and the Neustift cloister.

It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London in one day in June 2018 with a 40-piece string section conducted by Pete Anthony with Shawn Murphy as score mixer.

[17] The following day, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired rights for territories including North and Latin America, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the Benelux, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Baltics, South Africa, Turkey, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore for $12–14 million in a competitive situation that also included A24, Netflix, Paramount Pictures and Focus Features among others.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Ambitious and visually absorbing, A Hidden Life may prove inscrutable to non-devotees—but for viewers on Malick's wavelength, it should only further confirm his genius.

[22] Peter DeBruge of Variety writes: "Whether or not he is specifically referring to the present day, its demagogues, and the way certain evangelicals have once again sold out their core values for political advantage, A Hidden Life feels stunningly relevant as it thrusts this problem into the light.

"[23] Jägerstätter biographer Erna Putz was touched by the film's spirituality after a private screening in June 2019, saying that Malick had made an "independent and universal work".