A bloody poem every soldier writes

Rating: 10/10 (8 May 2006)

War movies are overdone and after two hours of blood and guts an audience doesn't walk away with much anymore. It takes a really moving film to be able to resurrect this tired genre from the ashes and the overlooked World War II drama The Thin Red Line was able to pull this off.
The movie centers around several American soldiers at the battle of Guadalcanal in 1944. The separate soldiers hardly ever interact with one another and the movie's main focus is on each individual's private struggle and what they are going through both mentally and physically during this rough time. The movie's tag-line sums it up best with: "Every man fights his own war." The movie is about individualism and personal conflict, not brotherhood and teamwork which is what war movies usually focus on.
Academy Award winning actor Sean Penn's (Mystic River) character finds himself confused and distraught over the war and hates himself for not being able to feel what everyone else is going through. Penn's buddy Private Witt may be neck deep in one of the bloodiest battles ever fought but his mind is swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Witt, played well by Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ), is trying his best to isolate himself from what's going on and rush his way through the war.
The character's struggles vary from a lost love to battle hardened colonel casting morals aside for his climb to the top. Each soldier's struggle is as real and emotional as war itself and are carried out wonderfully by this movie's all-star cast. It's easy for everyone to bond and relate with the characters and feel for them. This is a gripping feeling when one is used to watching the typical Hollywood movie or violent video game where watching young men get shot is as significant as seeing blades of grass get stepped on.
Another theme common throughout the movie is the beauty of nature and how the grim visuals of war contrast with it's surroundings. The movie opens with a beautiful sequence of a tropical jungle filled with dripping leaves and exotic animals. It's only a matter of time before man's barbaric acts rip the landscape to pieces leaving nothing untouched, including the once placid indigenous island people. This is director Terrence Malick's poetic signature that is unique and very awe-inspiring.
In today's world where violence and art are one in the same it's very bold for a filmmaker to direct such a magnificent movie that sacrifices killing time for a deep look into the human heart. Thankfully there are sensitive actors and filmmakers willing to embark on such an idea and make a beautiful movie out of it.