The Thin Red Line - Must See At Least Twice

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 2006)

People jump too quickly to label this beautifully filmed, subtle work as a "war film". The Thin Red Line is no more about the war in the South Pacific during WWII than "Gone From The Wind" was a war film about the American Civil War. Rather, The Thin Red Line is, among other things, a movie about the loss of hope. James Caveziel's Private Witt who has seen another, better world while living AWOL in a melanesian village is set against Sean Penn's company sergeant ("the world is blowin itself up as fast as it can arrange it"), who, despite his cynical view of life, is fascinated by Private Witt. Then there is the absolutely magnificent performance by Nick Nolte as the passed over career West Point colonel, reduced to taking orders from the newly minted general as played by John Travolta. This movie is full of subtlety and symbolism. You must see at least twice. Yes, there is some graphic violence, but is used expertly to define and refine the characters, not the gratuitous violence of any number of "war films"(including the 1964 rendition of the same James Jones book). Watch for the symbolism of the crocodile and the cage bird as the film develops. Filmed on location in Australia and Guadalcan, it is also visually stunning.