An intellectual war movie

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 1999)

This isn't a movie about war, per se. It's about the people that fight it, people just like us. It's about why we fight, about how meaningless war can be to one man but a code of honor to another. Some (in this movie) look at it as a way to glorify themselves, no matter what the cost. Others see it as constant fear and suffering. It depends on how high you are in the chain of command. Extremely effective voice-overs ask questions we don't usually verbalize--questions that usually remain as bothersome feelings from the subconscious. Also extremely effective musical score. None of that constant, pumping "Armageddon" rubbish that brow-beats us into making some kind of emotional reaction. Instead, the music in "Thin Red Line" complements the scenes. A great ensemble movie. Caviezel's facial expressions are dialogue in themselves. Admittedly, the movie has a slower pace, especially considering it's genre, but it builds slowly and quietly, in between the lines, until you're left with something quite beautiful. It ages on the screen like a fine wine and your left to drink it at the closing credits.