Malick's best.

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2008)

The first war film I've ever seen that was above average also happens to be one that I deeply love. The narration was a wonderful touch, giving a chance to become much closer to every character in the film. As the tagline says "Every man fights his own war" and that is displayed perfectly throughout the film. Each man has his own different story. We got to see what was going through their heads as clearly as they were thinking it, and it really gave us a much more personal connection to each character, something that I always find lacking in war films. The performances are great all around, but I do wish Clooney had been a more vital role. As always with Malick, the direction and cinematography are absolutely superb. Such beautiful and striking images really set the tone for the film, and clash with the horror and brutality of war. Malick creates a contrast between nature and weaponized war, constantly switching from elegant images of nature to the terror of violence and battle.
This creates one of the strongest paradoxes I've ever seen. It brings forth the question of how we could cause death and destruction while being absorbed in such beauty and wonder. The shot of the bird being hit by a bullet seems pointless at first, but it is really a contrast between nature's relation to life and man's association with death. The effect of man on nature is one of brutality (the constant fires and explosions) while the effect of nature on man is one of therapeutic absorption, displayed through Caviezel as he swims with the children in the water with a vibrant smile on his face and playful laughs surrounding him. Caviezel can handle all of the pain and bloodshed of war due to his connection with nature. The water cleanses him of sins and stress, in what I saw as a metaphor for baptism. The final image is one of optimism, showing that even though man took a heavy toll on it, the beauty of nature will live on.