One of the best

Rating: 10/10 (10 July 1999)

Simply put, the most beautiful movie ever made. Every shot and thought and character has multiple layers of subtlety and meaning. Truly a great film, reminiscent of 2001 and the novel Grapes of Wrath. An absolutely extraordinary experience in a darkened theater. The score is superb, the dialogue and acting perfect. The narration may seem awkward at first, but you need to listen to what's being said to understand the movie. Like Pvt. Ryan, the movie deals with decency in the face of death and the beauties and horrors of life, just minus the hokey jokes and rather inappropriate reassuring flag waving of Speilberg's monument. The film is under appreciated for it's length and daring. It transcends all typical narrative and structure of storytelling, but it NEEDS to be listened to. Those who claim its philosophies are BS need to listen to it. What it says is true and part of what we are as human beings. The movie illustrates beautifully what heaven and earth mean to us all. As for the overuse of eastern philosophy-there isn't any. Death and what it means and possibly begats is one of the film's many themes, and all bases are covered. There is even a Christ-like character, much like Jim Casey and Tom Joad in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. The movie doesn't shock us the way 'Ryan did, but that's not what it wants to do. Terrence Malick want's us to think about what warfare does, what we are between 'heaven' and earth, and what death means to men facing it. This is a film maker's art, his expression. You don't need to like it, but you need to respect it. Me- I love it more than any other film, and it deserves more than its gotten. It is well paced, its characters well rounded, it execution beautiful, its ideas lovingly expressed, its editing crisp and rather provokative, and its narrative is different, original and ultimately rewarding. It deals with eternal themes in a new way, and it enthrawled me. Combat was shown frankly violent and gut wrenching. There is love, there is hate, fear, anger, greed, insanity, power, ideas (rare these days), and ultimate beauty. Terrence Malick is a brilliant artist, making HIS films in HIS own unique style, a style that is fresh and ultimately his own. Film is artwork. Malick is the truest artist I have seen working in this medium. This movie is a milestone in film making.