Hard Movie To Like At First, But It Gets Better....Much Better

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2006)

This film came out the same year as "Saving Private Ryan" - two blockbuster 3-hour World War II movies - but was nowhere the same success at the box office. Up until lately, I agreed with most other people that Steven Spielberg's film was more more appealing than this Terrence Malick movie....but now I am not so sure. I find both of them fascinating.
It took me a long time to come around to liking this film. One problem was I expected more since I had to wait 20 years for another Malick film after his fantastic "Days Of Heaven." always one of my all-time favorite movies. I appreciated that Malick, in his two previous films, wasn't just a visual genius but had characters that expressed themselves without a ton of crudeness or profanity. In this film, Nick Nolte, ended that verbal romance with an assault of GDs that rattled off like a machine gun. That, and narration that sounded like some stoned-out New Age-guru or some '60s freak, , turned me and millions of other viewers off, most of whom could make no sense of the almost incoherent ramblings.
Well, that narration, as I have since discovered - especially by putting the English subtitles on - is not what I thought and Nolte I can just do the opposite: hit the "mute" when he starts another of his obscene tirades. Now, the film is what I'd hoped it would be! It only took four viewings for me to fully appreciate this film. Hey, some of us are slow learners, I guess.
The narration, to the best of my assumptions, is simply the anguish several of the soldiers feel as - in the middle of a horrific war - they try to make sense of life, death, suffering, war and spiritual matters in general. They agonize over loneliness of being separated from their wives and family, or they compare two extremes in civilizations as they now exist in one that is far removed in one they came from. Spiritual matters are discussed by Believers and non- believers, optimists and cynics. Seeing the narration on screen in the form of subtitles helped make me appreciate and make sense out of them. It's pretty heady stuff, as it turns out. Some may still think it's pure nonsense, but I'm willing to give Malick the benefit of the doubt.
Meanwhile, the action scenes are excellent. In "Ryan," they centered more in bombed-out cities, but here the fighting takes place in a remote jungle. This really is the story of Guadalcanal. The scenery, much of it filmed in either Australia or the Solomon Islands, is just gorgeous, just the kind Malick loves. A true lover of nature, Malick gives us one spectacular scene after another with all the greens of grasses, tress and leaves you'd ever want to see, complemented by an assortment of exotic birds and reptiles. It's just stunning in parts. If you ever call a war movie "arty," this is it, with the great nature shots and reflective narration. They both provide needed relief from the intense action/profanity/suspense which occurs in the middle of the film as the Americans attempt to secure the top of a hill fortified by Japanese troops. The action scenes are realistic, have wonderful sound and well-filmed. The soundtrack also is very nice.
As stated earlier, my only complaint was Nolte's character, "Lt. Col. Tall." who is the Hollywood stereotype of a gung-ho military officer they don't like (and they don't like many). He's constantly screaming and is so abrasive he almost ruins the film. Actor-wise, what's interesting is that a number of these "stars" in here were relative unknowns when this came out in 1998 - men such as Jim Caveziel, Adrien Body, Ben Chaplin and Elias Koteas - and now they are established actors whom most of us are familiar with. Despite the other big names you see advertised here, the stars of this film are Caveziel, Koteas, Nolte and Sean Penn. Many of the "names," such as John Travolta, George Clooney, John Cusack, etc., have only very minor or cameo roles.
Anyway, if this movie turned you off when you first saw it, please consider giving it another shot. You might be pleasant surprised. It's better than what first meets the eye!