Celebrated filmmaker Terrence Malick returns to filmmaking from a 20 year absence with this visually, emotionally and poetically outstanding film about the Guadalcanal conflict
of World War 2. It's with ill thought that I feel "The Thin Red Line" will likely be istantly stood up against Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan", when, in fact, the two films,
in my humble opinion, couldn't be farther apart. Where "Saving Private Ryan" was built for impact, it sometimes felt, with the exception of its opening sequence, a little bit Hollywood; although, of course, at such a young age, I
can hardly claim to have an idea of the horror that war holds. A better way to compare the two films is the act of painting. Where I called the overall feel of "Saving Private Ryan" a painting of
blood, terror and horror, Malick's "Line" is the act of painting itself. The film is a work of art that soars above the medium of film to almost a level of zen and meditation that
has really never been seen in film. Where "Ryan" centered on making the characters be at the forefront of the work, "A Thin Red Line" takes the characters and almost paints the reality around them, brushstroke by brushstroke. Mood and environment and feeling is painted in
with a careful, masterful touch.
The film centers around a company of soldiers fighting for survival in the Guadalcanal battle of World War II. The film itself attains an incredible, almost continual feel of doom; there is a terrifying feeling
when the camera is in the grass, or moving through smoke, that, in essence, as a soldier says in the film, that there is no safe place. You have to keep moving because there is no place to hide. And more often
than not, the enemy is just on the other side of the smoke.
For some reason, the film reminded me of Andrew Niccol's film "Gattaca" in the way that it used visuals as not a way of adding style to a film, but to almost tell a secondary story. I absolutely
loved the visuals, the voiceovers, the nature in a "Thin Red Line", because, overall, it's grandly abstract, grandly experimental, and not all the answers are laid out for the viewer. The film itself
is something that washes over you. The terrifying battle scenes are interrupted in a moment of silent thought by many of the characters; an almost trance-like stream of thought that, for one short moment,
lifts them out of something that is unthinkable. There are many thoughts, words, lines from this film that stick with the viewer. It may not be the specific characters from this film that stay with you,
but there are moments, pictures, thoughts, that will leave a strong impression on any viewer. The film's mood alone is far different from "Ryan"; far more somber and far more complex in emotion. What is quite
responsible for this level of complexity and emotion is director Malick's screenplay, based on James Jones's novel. It may not create memorable characters like Ryan, but the fact that the film never focuses
it's viewpoint on one specific character(like "Ryan"'s Hanks) makes it feel all the more real.
Of course, though, there are excellent performances here. Sean Penn plays Sgt. Welsh, a cynical, numb man who perfers to look at the truth of his surroundings rather than to try and lift his spirit with the hope
that Pvt. Witt tries to find in the simple, natural life of a small village, before he's whisked from that life into battle. In an Oscar-worthy supporting performance, Ben Chaplin plays Pvt. Bell, a man who keeps
hope alive in the memories of the time he has spent with his wife, and the thought that he will see her again, no matter how the war ends for him. Also quite excellent is Elias Koteas, who plays a Captain who can't
bare to see the men of his group, who have become surrogate family, marched into what will be a certain suicide mission. Also excellent are Nick Nolte and John Cusack, as well as a cameo by John Travolta. George Clooney
is on screen in a "Blink-and-you'll-miss-it" cameo as well. Thankfully, these cameos never become distracting.
John Toll's cinematography is also deserving of award and recognition, capturing the beauty and the terror of the battle. There are moments that attain an almost surreal level of terror viewing it in the way that
there literally seems to be no safe place; there is also a lack of point-of-view in some of the battle scenes that is effective in the way that we are not tied to a character, but feel that the camera, or our point
of view, is almost a character in itself. There is also some excellent use of handheld camera.
There are two battles going on and they are both looked at with a bold, striking vision. What is so amazing about the film is how it's able to structure such a deep, emotional battle inside the men and their toxic mix
of fear, emotion and sadness; Malick expertly and seamlessly builds the internal conflicts into the battles themselves. Overall, though, "The Thin Red Line" is more of a work of art like a painting than a film; the fact
that it works such a compelling story into this painting makes it all the more incredible.
I'm uneasy about the reaction that mainstream audiences will have with this picture; I think that it's a more complex, more meditative look at War than Spielberg's "Ryan" was, and to be honest, I simply liked this film more. "Ryan" is an outstanding
film on it's own, but it just doesn't have the depth and complexity that I think Malick has achieved with this film. Although "A Thin Red Line" doesn't have the kind of scene that "Ryan" had with its incredible opening, it sustains impact with consistent and powerful scenes of battle. I hope that audiences find this film when it goes into exclusive engagements, then a wider release. I hope that
Fox has chosen the very best theaters in other areas, like they have in Chicago to start the film's run. It deserves, like "Ryan", to be viewed in a theater with the highest quality of presentation. I hope that audiences can
be patient with this film, because, it needs patience, understanding, and I hope that they take the time to see the emotional and complex feelings that lie underneath the film's exterior. It's a film of the very highest quality
and I hope that others can find it as thought-provoking and enjoyable as I did.
