The Beautiful War

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2006)

The Thin Red Line (1998) ****
I first saw Terrence Malick's take on James Jones Novel, The Thin Red Line, the year that it came out. I didn't know what to make of it. Perhaps it was my age, I was younger then and could not understand it. It wasn't full of battle scenes and gore like Saving Private Ryan. I would even say that I ended up being bored.
Since then I've seen the film numerous times; what made me go back and give it another shot I do not know. What I do know, is that The Thin Red Line is the film that turned me onto film. Over the years since the films release I've fell into love with it. In my mind, there is no movie of the 90s that has matched its greatness. The Thin Red line is frankly a modern masterpiece.
Like most masterpieces, it is bound to be misunderstood. I can think of very few other films that are filled with such depth and beauty. Like Malick's other films, what you see isn't necessarily what you get. There is an abundance of underlying messages and meaning in the film, making it very difficult to grasp. Also, the films style is strange, having an almost total lack of narrative, making it as Martin Scorcese put it, an endless picture. The names and voice overs are difficult to distinguish and often indifferent to what is happening on screen, but it's all done for a reason. War has faces and names dropped on you out of nowhere with recruits and the chaotic nature of it all; often people disappear amid the bullets and the carnage, and new faces replace them.
It has been said that the movie has no main character. This could be true, but there are multiple main characters, similar to the book. Witt, Tall, Welsh, Staros, Bell; all main characters. Perhaps the best way to describe it is to call the whole company, C company, the main character.
The film follows the company through Guadalcanal, dropping into the lives of various characters here and there, all trying to deal with the war in their own way. It is difficult to get into a descriptive plot outline simply because the film is almost plot less. Those who've read the book will recognize the machinations, but the film was more inspired by the novel, rather than a film version of it. It would be virtually impossible to film the book.
War is chaos, and the film clearly displays this, and recognizes that war does not ennoble men, it "turns them into dogs. Poisons the Soul." The film focuses more on how those men that are thrust into it try to cope with the dehumanization, all looking for inner peace. The Thin Red Line is filled with beautiful images and beautiful poetry; starkly contrasting the horror of reality. The film also contains one of the most powerful scenes I have ever seen. The scene involves the company charging through the woods looking to attack a Japanse bivouac. They walk through the fog carpeted forest as you hear only the whiz of bullets passing by from seemingly out of nowhere. When they finally reach the site of the attack, the camera moves frantically, chasing soldiers here and there, from the viewpoint of both American and Japanese soldiers. The music in this scene is quite possibly the key to why it becomes so powerful. Everything in the Thin Red Line clicks, especially the music and the cinematography.
The Thin Red Line evokes a sense of tranquility in the middle of chaos, and begs questions that may possibly never be answered, but need to be asked nonetheless. The late Gene Siskel called the film on its release "the finest contemporary war film." The film is still misunderstood years later, but its popularity is growing and its finally becoming regarded as a masterpiece. Martin Scorcese has called this the second best film of the 90s- it should be noted that the film he chose as number 1, was made in the 80s, it just never gained popularity in North America until the 90s.
Unlike films like Saving Private Ryan, who's repeat viewings offer nothing new, you can watch The Thin Red Line time after time after time, and see a different film every time. It is my belief that in the years to come, The Thin Red Line will gain wide recognition as a masterpiece. 4/4