The underrated and most misunderstood movie of 1999

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 1999)

The Thin Red Line is certainly not for everyone with Attention Deficit Disorder and those who have the penchant for Armageddon-type razzle-dazzle action. The reason why the moviegoers loathed this movie is because it's overlong, inconsistent, inconceivable, pretentious, muddling, you name it. The movie philosophizing about war and the effect on humanity, nature and civilization is not easy to sell. The Thin Red Line is certainly one of the most brilliant, haunting and moving movies I have seen since Roland JoffÃ©'s The Mission. It spoke for me intellectually, unlike others who have the zero tolerance for slow pace and elaborate rambling. But not without the obvious flaws -- convoluted narratives (intentionally or not), distracting cameos and disjointed editing in the final hour. I agree that some of the National Geographic Explorer shots are unnecessary, but Terry Malick makes the point that war is what decimates the stability of nature and mankind. It speaks for the essence of the metaphysics of the human mind.
What angers me is the relentless comparision to Saving Private Ryan. The other manipulative and hypersentimental war movie have no place to compare to The Thin Red Line whose message have been convoluted because of people's assumption that they would see the reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan. The fact is, The Thin Red Line began principal photography a few months before Saving Private Ryan! The Thin Red Line does not delve to show the extremes of war such as extremely gory violence and carnage. Mr. Malick, despite the pressure, restrained from the excessive indulgence of violence unlike Steven Spielberg's hectic vision of relentless and unflinchingly inundate violence in SPR. The purpose of the movie is to show that the humans are lost souls desensitized by the atrocities of war and the perception that the soldiers on both sides are actually vulnerable humans instead of mere savage animals looking to kill (e.g., murder) more people to amuse and to advance. Stereotypically stoic characters are not in The Thin Red Line, unlike SPR. Instead some self-serving and conceited characters (such as Woody Harrelson's character) make the mistakes and regrets instead of succumbing to the final remark with a death rattle. This is what makes the man a human again -- before death comes to take over.
What is vitally important is that this is a difficult movie to understand and analyze because it's so visually enthralling and abstract. Only Malick knows what he's talking about. The Thin Red Line is very much like the erratic Apolcalypse Now. To paraphase Francis Ford Coppola's most famous quote: "My greatest fear is to make a really s****y, embarrassing, pompous film on an important subject, and I am doing it." This is what Malick may have thought, but he allowed the viewers to think for themselves. I let Malick's vision roll over me, and as the film progresses, it made me think about the devastating consequences of war. It is the casualties of war and human suffering that made me think. Its destructive nature of war is what hurts the relationship between the Earth and mankind. It spoke to my mind instead of my heart -- I don't need to be medicinal -- that we think before we commit the most contemptible acts. To me, The Thin Red Line is both intelligent and spiritual.
Too bad The Thin Red Line have been overlooked by the Academy and Terry Malick never had a compliment for his mind-absorbing view of war. The late James Jones would have liked the movie, but who knows. The public and critics' opinions on the movie are wildly divided. The Thin Red Line is certain to become one of the most debated movies in recent history.
My only wish is that Fox would have the gut to release the original cut of The Thin Red Line as Mr. Malick wanted in order for his ideals to be comprehensible as originally envisioned.