Ahead of its time

Rating: 10/10 (18 January 1999)

I will preface this by saying that this, more than likely, will not be accepted by 1999 mainstream moviegoers, which I suppose is fine. Many people are not interested in doing the amount of analysis and thinking that The Thin Red Line might possibly require to understand the film and everything it achieves. No big deal; the last thing I wish to do is pass judgement on those who don't. However, in my mind though, The Thin Red Line is an absolute work of art; and possibly one of the deepest films I've ever seen.
Consider the beginning... A man (Cpl. Fife, played magnificently by Adrian Brody), in a paradise, surrounded by children, nature, and more beauty than one could ever imagine. He is in his heaven. He is in the very place of escape that Sgt. Edward Welsh's (Sean Penn) lines of dialogue speak against. Sgt. Welsh claims there is no place, but rather there is only this world that he lives in, on this rock. And then we see that this man's heaven, and the war he is fighting in, hell, exist in the same place. The genious in the conflict is awe inspiring, to say the least.
As the movie progresses, "voice-overs," which I generally associate with elementary filmmaking, give the audience insight as to the thoughts that run through a soldier's head as he struggles in his attempt to understand the world and the war around him.
The acting, for the most part is top-notch, and only a little jarring in the end when chin-down, eyes-up George Clooney makes his appearance, which in all honesty was not as bad as it might seem. The cinematography is as good as I have ever seen and brings about those feelings one gets while watching Discovery channel when one asks, "How did they film that?" but it is the story that makes the film a success. I have always written that all great films are one of two combinations, a good movie (in terms of the production itself) and a great story (It's A Wonderful Life), or a good story and a great movie (Saving Private Ryan); the comparison brings me to my conclusion.
The Thin Red Line is about as close to a great story AND a great movie. WARNING: Do not go to see The Thin Red Line expecting to see anything close to Saving Private Ryan- I'm sick of being asked to compare the two films. They are about as different as any two films can be about the same subject, that being WWII. This is a thinking person's film about inherent nature of man, the bonds of men in war, and the struggle to balance the desires of both. An amazing film.