For the birds

Rating: 9/10 (7 July 1999)

10 points out of 10
Birds tie this story together. The caged bird singing beautifully in Witt's dying mother's bedroom. The bird cage, now broken and empty, that the destroyed Japanese battalion had kept, showing that they, too, loved life. The owl that watches the Japanese soldiers appear magically from the woods to kill Witt. The toucans that stand and watch, the vultures that wait for soldiers to die, the seagulls that Malick shows whenever the beautiful palm trees sway. The bats, ironically, similar to birds but symbolic of death, that wrap themselves in their leathery wings, like body bags, just before Witt knowingly gets himself killed. The love birds at the end who survive. And, last, but not least, Sargeant Welsh's reference to the dying bird as he speaks of Witt's love for life.
Symbolically, metaphorically, it is on par with Citizen Kane. Spiritually, it is the best movie out there. The message is clear. "You can keep your innocence, and, although your innocence won't spare you from suffering, it will make the world heavenly when you're not suffering." The Japanese face in the ground and Welsh's bird soliloquy say it all.
This movie has changed my life. But it is a new age, conscientious version of the book. Last night I watched the movie 3 times. Today I checked the book out of the library.
There are no references yet to birds! I'm on page 40 something, and the only characters that clearly made it into the movie are Captain Staros (Stein), Welsh (Welsh), and Fife (Bell) and Doll (Doll). Well, the book has 430 pages, and I did notice that Witt shows up later. But there is no incidence of going AWOL at the beginning.
I think I'm going to suggest I compare/contrast the book with the movie as my final project for my cinema class. I need to know when Malick first read the book, if ever, and why the whole thing is so changed.
Mag