The Thin Red Line (1998)
War movies is able to grab into our fear of death and while many of them tackle the same themes in a similar fashion, I still find it effective and it is always interesting to see yet another approach to the “war is hell” - dare I say - trope.
It is no surprise that what Terrence Malick brings to the table is gorgeous cinematography, but also a calmness to the battlefield. We are close to the nature and the landscape, all the way down in the tall grass. A strange sensation to scenes that in most other war movies brings a high pulse and a sense of adrenaline, but here an almost placid impression. I also like how the various soldiers fulfilled the usual roles of nervous privates, lower ranking officers that want to protect their men and higher officers out for victory no matter how many lives it cost - but not quite so stereotypical after all. We get the feeling that everyone, high and low rank, have their nerves stressed thin with anxiety once they see what battle is actually like. Deaths aren’t heroic or glorious, and even though they try, the usual motivation about “fighting for freedom and country” isn’t really there.
What annoys me is that Malick apparently saw the need to have various voice overs of the soliders reciting poems. He is so good at making what is on screen look great and it would have been better to just let the pictures speak for themselves. I also felt that there was potential with Witt’s relationship with the natives and how their closer connection to their land and nature was affected by these foreign countries fighting on their island. There is tons of sadness in that story, but these people are mostly just used as a device to give a main character some perceived depth. I would say better to leave them out entirely if their story in this war isn’t explored in depth with their perspective.
Great movie otherwise, but just misses the very high mark for me.
Rating: 3.5