Wonderful movie, but it might disturb those who had other expectations.

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2004)

After seeing some of the reviews, I guess some of the things must be gotten straight immediately.
If you're looking for a war movie with fast-paced action à la Saving Private Ryan, this is not the movie you're looking for. If you're looking for a movie that will tell you all about the battle of Guadalcanal and how it happened, this is not the movie you're looking for. If you're looking for a movie with a structure you can easily recognize, with a strong good hero you can immediately identify with and with evil baddies that must be defeated, this is not the movie you're looking for.
If you're not open to something new and that can disturb you movie-watching habits, and if you want a movie that will just help your brain cell rest and entertain you, look for something else.
There, you're warned. Now you can watch this movie with a free and open mind, and you'll probably appreciate it more.
The Thin Red Line is a movie that happens during war, but it's not a "war movie" as it's usually understood. You'll soon find out that how the Guadalcanal battle is going on on a whole is your last concern. War could here be understood only as a context in which men are much closer to death than usual, where they have to deal with killing or being killed. That's what it's about. The Thin Red Line is a men story, the story of men who have to shape their relations to each others, to the world around, and you won't stop being in awe and turned upside down if you tie your mind to the company. It's not as much linear as it is a composition ; the behaviour and personality of the different soldiers, the images, the voices off, all send back one to the other and eventually form a big scheme. Yes, that's a movie which is not all evident, but that one grows inside you every time you watch it.
The Thin Red Line is one of these movies that can change one's life, reshape one's philosophy on life. It can be an unique experience if you give it a fair chance.