A movie that grows on you

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 1999)

I've read the fair share of comments on here, always happy to see those people who like it, quite confused at the people who seem to miss the point. I come from the angle of haven't seen any of Malick's work, but this movie was hugely powerful in a very unHollywoodian manner. I read much about this movie before I saw it, so some of the best parts were spoiled (against my will), but still didn't fail to move me.
Since Saving Private Ryan and this movie have been compared so often, I will say that when I first saw Saving Private Ryan I thought it was quite good. Now its message has been blown to bits: it seems that the message of that movie, very conventional, was completely hollow compared to Thin Red Line. Thin Red Line's point is not to blow things up or make the viewer cry, though both happened to me. I believe it is to show the very nature of man in times of extreme distress, and how some regress, some are transfigured, and some remain unchanged (or try to remain unchanged). There were also elements of mother earth versus man's futility/cruelty, but I think that was to underpin the character of the man.
Many movies try to reveal the nature of the man, but most rely on that linear Hollywoodian sentimentality (try "Patch Adams," which appears to have a higher rating than this movie), which uses conventions that are bound to detract or in my case, disgust. Malick here combines snatches of personal drama with that great psychological profundity portrayed with that universally praised cinematography, but also the monologues, which showed every man, perhaps even just the surface, but every man nonetheless.
About the "lack of plot" - the plot can be contained in the characters in their environment, not the characters themselves but the combined result of their personalities. But each man still remains an unmistakable individual - much like the war they were fighting.
This movie is purely abstract. It made me think about many things, and great emotions came from that. It's a movie that takes effort to understand, but is well worth it. It's a movie that will grow on an individual.
My vote for best movie of the year.
(e-mail: havergal@yahoo.com)