Once upon a time you went literally decades between Terrence Malick films. Now there’s so many of them that there’s a backlog — “Knight Of Cups” only just hit theaters, there’s still no firm word on when “Weightless” will arrive, and documentary “Voyage Of Time” is a few months away as well. And Malick shows no sign of stopping, as news has arrived that he’s got financing for a new project.
Arriving in the German press including Weltfäliche Nachrichten and trade site Blickpunkt: Film is the news that Malick has been given 400,000 Euros by a German funding body towards the production of “Radegund,” which will shoot at the famous Studio Babelsberg this summer. The film will star “Inglourious Basterds” actor August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian man who opposed the Nazis, and refused to fight as a conscientious objector, causing him to be executed by the Nazis in 1943. (A newcomer called Valerie Pachner will also appear).
Initially condemned by his fellow Catholic countrymen, he was rediscovered in the 1960s thanks to a biography, was previously the subject of a film by Axel Corti in 1971, and in 2007 was beatified and declared a martyr by Pope Benedict XVI. As such, this seems to fit neatly into the themes of religion that Malick has long explored.
It’s certainly a change of pace in some ways, but after “Knight Of Cups,” some would perhaps welcome that. We’re sure more details will emerge soon, but it’s good to know that Malick is moving towards something new.