Brilliant

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2006)

This film brilliantly uses the Guadalcanal story from James Jones' book to show the horrors of war against the beauty of nature. Voicovers provide a philosophical point of view of the various main characters as their lives unfold and we learn more about them. A love story shown in flashback is also used as counterpoint in one story. At once beautiful, shocking, horrifying difficult to watch in some instances Malick only brings these points more fully into clarity. One of my favorite war films along with Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now Redux. The performances are stellar especially Jim Caviezal as the gone AWOL soldier who has a love/hate relationship with his first Sargent played by Sean Penn.