Fathers and Brothers Lost In War

Rating: Null/10 (17 August 2009)

I had mostly heard negative things about Terence Mallick's 'The Thin Red Line' but now that I have seen it, I'm glad that I followed my instinct to give the movie a chance. What makes this one different from other movies is the beautiful storytelling. With solid writing, 'The Thin Red Line' has a poetic feel especially through the powerful voice-over. Mallick also makes fine use of the beauty of the spectacular island and it contrasts marvelously with the ugliness of war. The superb cinematography and dazzling visuals capture both the horror and beauty of the circumstance. Unlike the many numerous war movies, this one takes a deep psychological perspective of what's happening in the mind of the key characters. Here the major ugliness of the war is what was going on between the American soldiers as they are being forced to take orders that would only lead them to death or suffer the consequences of disobeying them. What also intrigued me was that these people were portrayed as normal and flawed human beings who feared for their lives. Mallick handles each and every sequence with skill. The editing department deserves mention because given the long duration, the pace is steady and it didn't feel as though I had watched a very long movie. The score is fabulous and the sound effects are brilliant. The enormous cast includes Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Ben Chaplin, Adrien Brody, George Clooney, John Cusack, Elias Koteas, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson, John Travolta and Nick Nolte. All the actors do a terrific job but it is Caviezel who mostly carries the film. 'The Thin Red Line' is a refreshing watch and I don't hesitate to say that it's on par with 'Saving Private Ryan'