Thin red line, The  

The Thin Red Line is based on the book of the same name written by the author James Jones (From Here to Eternity) and was the first project by legendary (allegedly) director Terrance Malick in almost 20 years. Therefore it was subject to a not unrespectable amount of hype prior to release.

The Thin Red Line is a W.W.II movie in the same mold as Saving Private Ryan: its set on realism rather than heroism and glorifying.

But instead of the shores of Normandy and the battlefields of Europe we’re taken to the Pacific and the small Island of Guadalcanal.

The title (of book and film) implies the thin, thin line between sanity and madness, between life and death.

The beginning is somewhat unexpected. Were greeted with the idyllic and peaceful life of some natives on one of the many Islands of the Pacific. Among them live two white men. It doesn’t take to long before you figure out they are soldiers and most probably deserters, and alas they’re soon found and reinstated by the army.

It’s now that the film really begins. The two unfortunate soldiers – one of them private Witt who if anyone has the leading roll in this movie - and their army unit are about to conquer Guadalcanal, an island of great strategic importance. The real driving force behind their presence is the ambition and drive of the officer in charge, Colonel Tall, magnificently played by Nick Nolte.

His military career isn’t was it should have been and now Tall sees his chance to make himself a name in the history books a the man who swiftly and effortlessly took the island of Guadalcanal.

What then follows is the naked brutality and meaningless of war. This is no Hollywood-style action. This is not a movie with silly heroics, untouchable heroes or endless gunfights.

The first battle scene is when Witt’s army unit comes to a machinegun defended hill. They’re ordered by Colonel Tall to take its as soon as possible and with no evasive maneuvers. Two men are orded forward to scout. The men slowly crawl forward in the thick high grass, carefully lift there heads out of the grass and…. *bang* *bang*.

No glory, no special camera angle, no slow motion, no death cries, no outdrawn death scene. Just dead. Gone. Forgotten.

Some get out alive, some die. Young old, symphafetic, unsympateuc by accident, by chance they all die in horror and fright, Americans as well as Japanese.

Especially two scenes made a lasting impression on me.

First the aforementioned opening shots and the carnage and blood bath the ensured after that as the Americans vainly storm the hill. Secondly the attack on the Japanese camp after the capture of the hill. Played to a soothing tune and with sound turned down its makes an eerie scene as the Americans storm the camp where there’s mostly wounded Japanese.

I doubt anyone becomes a warmonger after seeing this movie. (If so then there’s something serious wrong with him)

The film does especially well in showcasing the fear and horror, anger and hate among the soldiers and the underlining inevitability of it all. These men have no choise and they know it. They just want to survive.

I’m afraid the film is not all good though. For starters the movie is too long, its 2 hours and 48 minutes could have easily been shortened. Secondly there’s is some ongoing narrative throughout the movie from the soldiers – mostly from Witt - where they philosophy over the meaning of life and war. It doesn’t work very well. The thoughts feel very distant from the men we see on the screen, too inhuman and unlikely. In the end its just feels pretentious and ruins things a lot.

Finally, although the film is beautifully and breathtakingly shot and really uses the silver screen to great advantage there are some unexplainable shots of various wildlife. What’s the deal? Is it supposed to highlight the utter difference between humans and nature? A small but irritating niggle.

I think The Thin Red line is at its best when viewed in the cinema and the battle scenes are really exceptionable but I don’t know if I can recommend it on a whole.