Dancing with death and the thin line that divides you from it

Rating: 9/10 (9 June 2006)

The camera slowly moves through the long grass, you can see the tips of the mountains in the distance, the sun reflects down over the solders as they pass through the undergrowth. Setting the scene for The Thin Red Line. The solders are dancing with death. Every single scene captures the moment with perfection and precision. The Thin Red Line says so much through silence or music because it is expertly crafted. This is the definition of art and an example of a contemporary war film. The image of the tiny slash of blood on the moving grass is a very haunting one, that will always stick with me. And I can't forget the baby bird hatching underneath all the furious rage and hatred surrounding it. This gives the impression of peace fighting against the dying. The introduction is one of the best ever, the slow paced narration and the bright colours of the children swimming while the score plays asking you questions about immortality. A poetic vision of war, unsurpassed beauty and questions of belief. And also the study of obsession...
The weather seems to suit the mood and fit in perfectly with the scene, an example would be the orange clouds passing over the mountains. One frame expresses everything that a character is feeling. You can see it through their eyes and their physical actions/expressions. An example of using acting as an art and the cast is amazing and filled with such great variety. The men are all different and all have different views and ways of dealing with a situation. The sweat sits on the solder's faces as they rock back and forward getting ready for a battle. The film has the elements of hide and seek as the men crouch along the ground with the fast whizzing sound of bullets buzzing over their heads and men screaming. You feel the strain, the stress, the anger that the solders are going through and the fear of dying alone. All this makes the movie so powerful and moving. The whole film feels tense, edge of your seat nail biting genius. I love the shots of the spraying light filtering out through the trees while men have the horror of waiting to die. The vast array of actors (everybody perfectly casted) in the movie all put on powerful and believable roles. I love the use of mist in the film to create atmosphere and the close up shots on the solder's horror stricken faces. Some of the most thrilling sequences and one of the most harrowing films ever made. The editing is another point that stands out to me, it is all precise and fits in perfectly at the right moments in time just like the score.
Terrence Malik has established himself as a cult director; he makes films years and years after the previous. Though The Thin Red Line seems as though ages was spent preparing for it. Terrence Malik loves movies and knows all the techniques you can really see this when watching his films. He manages to capture the realism of war, the strategic combat of military. One of the main outstanding point of the movie is the way you never see the enemies faces or at least not clearly till that latter part of the movie. Possibly the most realistic war experience ever, apart from Saving Private Ryan. But whereas Saving Private Ryan is a brutally honest interpretation, The Thin Red Line is philosophical. Both are masterpieces no doubt about it. The personal director's message is an anti-war statement that will ring and out and haunt you till the credits close. You see the terrible evil things solders have to do during war in an un flinching perspective. The attention to the detail is astounding, the focus on animals in their natural habitats as well as the beautiful settings.
Voice over, 1st person camera shots, beautiful imagery, stunning photography, amazing direction and a moving score make this a true masterpiece. A film that asks the viewer questions and morals of life at war, should you do what you think is right for your fellow men or do what your commander says? You see there are many ethical questions filtered with powerful mind numbing scenes that grab the viewer. The Thin Red Line is definitely not for the average viewer or someone who just expects lots of action, it's a thinking persons war movie rather like Apocalypse Now is.