Beautiful and thought-provoking

Rating: 10/10 (18 August 2000)

I enjoyed this movie greatly. It looks absolutely gorgeous - those lingering landscape shots are almost indescribable. I am gushing a little, but the photography here is truly special. Hans Zimmer's haunting musical score fits the mood perfectly - I'd rate it on par with his work on Gladiator.
As others have noted, this is a poetic, though-provoking movie. Some may describe it as boring - if you're looking for guns and action, go see Starship Troopers. Regarding the narrative, I'm fortunate enough never to have fought in battle, so I honestly can't say whether these soldiers' thoughts and feelings are 'realistic' or not. But the philosophical musings fit the mood of the film perfectly, and I'm glad they were included.