Malick's Return

Rating: 9/10 (5 May 2019)

A groundbreaking epic film. One of the best ever of it's genre. A look at war as only a master of the art like Malick could achieve. Excellent direction, screenplay, cinematography, editing, score and acting. The entire cast delivers perfect and realistic performances. Caviezel, Penn, Nolte and Harrelson are superb. The plot revolves around a U.S. Army absconder living a peaceful existence on a small island in the South Pacific. He is discovered by his commanding officer and forced back into training for the Battle Of Guadalcanal. From that point perspectives of various U.S. troops are explored as far as their attitudes towards life, death and war. The plot is gritty, violent, emotional, insightful, thought provoking, memorable, captivating and poetic. This film impacted my life and philosophy. I've revisited this masterpiece many times and it always reinvigorates my belief in humanity. This is Malick's best in this viewer's mind, although "Badlands" could be argued. It is certainly the best commentary on war and humanity ever made.