Summary
A depiction of the conflict at Guadalcanal during WW2.
My Thoughts
“The Thin Red Line” opens on a shot of a crocodile crawling from the banks of a murky river, down into the water until it submerges itself almost entirely. I’ve heard a few different interpretations of this opening shot. One interpretation is that the crocodile is Pvt. Witt, slowly submerging himself into war until he no longer recognizes himself. Another interpretation is that, like the crocodile, death is always waiting, lurking close by, waiting to strike. Another is that all men are like that crocodile; our lizard brains are only waiting for a reason to resurface and strike. Yet another interpretation talks about the indifference of nature to man’s wars. I’m not sure which interpretation is correct (or if Malick meant something entirely different); all of them have a little merit, and all of those interpretations give the film a bit more depth. Malick has a way of making the viewer a part of the experience; he shows them images and says to them, “Now, you decide what this means.” His films are artsy, slowly paced, and many times his scenes are meant to be more metaphorical than anything else. This is one of the greatest war movies ever made; I’d rank it right up there with “Saving Private Ryan”, which, coincidentally came out in the same year.
But while Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” is a WW2 blockbuster, with multiple action set-pieces, a straightforward plot, and a climatic ending, “The Thin Red Line” is one of the most ambitious art films ever made that uses WW2 as a backdrop. The plot of “Thin Red Line” is only vaguely established, because the plot is not overly essential to the movie. This movie is about taking the Guadalcanal, and that’s what the actors do. They start at the bottom of a ridge and work their way up until they take it. The film is two hours and fifty minutes long, and probably an hour and forty minutes of the movie is the characters figuring out how to get up to the top of the ridge. While the characters fight their way towards the top, however, many things are happening; we’re given insights into what each character is thinking in ways totally unique to Malick. If you’re familiar with Malick’s work, then you’ve probably noticed his tendency to allow images to speak for themselves, while he has his actors recite their dialogue in voiceover. Many times, the voiceovers will be vague metaphysical or existential musings, and in this film, it’s even difficult to tell who is speaking sometimes. As we watch images of men getting blown to bits for the sake of gaining a few feet of ground, the musings roll over these images; poetic, entrancing, yet horrifying. Malick never looks away from the grittier details; he instead lingers on them while beautiful words are spoken. There’s a great disconnect with the violence we see and the beauty he speaks of, and that extends to the settings in this movie. Malick shot this movie in bits of Guadalcanal, but primarily in Australia. It’s a gorgeous looking film, but again that violence seems almost jarring when placed in settings so beautiful.
The acting in this movie is something that was pretty incredible too. I was actually surprised that Nick Nolte didn’t get a best supporting actor nomination for this film, because he was outstanding as the fiery commander ordering his troops to run towards their enemies. Woody Harrelson was another standout; he wasn’t in many scenes, but the ones he was in blew me away. There are plenty of other great actors in this movie too, but Malick doesn’t really linger with too many people for too long. While Jim Caviezel was essentially the main character, even he was left off screen for sometimes twenty minutes at a time. This is, at its heart, an ensemble piece that highlights the way certain characters are feeling during different times. This is a war film that is not primarily about a certain mission or objective, but instead about the men that are forced to live through this hell, and how it changes them.
Verdict
This isn’t a typical war film. So for those expecting “Saving Private Ryan”, be warned. This is primarily an art film, a rumination on death and life, nature and where man fits into it, war and how it changes you. There is a lot of action, but it’s spaced out, slower paced, and probably more realistic. It’s a film that requires the viewer to think and be patient. If you’ve got the patience, this very beautiful and sad film will probably stay with you for quite some time. It’s one of the most ambitious and best war movies ever made.
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