A great film overshadowed

Rating: 8/10 (22 March 1999)

It is always a shame when Oscar nominated films fail to get even one award. The Thin Red Line, was just bad timing. Wedged between two Elizabethan movies and two other WWII films, it was going to be hard pressed to win a major award. I would've hoped it would have won at least one award out of seven nominations.
I really enjoyed this film. Although I did feel it got bogged down in imagery and soul-searching narratives. The acting was superb, especially from Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel and Elias Koteas. The action sequences were terrifying, and I was grateful not to be subjected to any limb-tearing, head-caving graphic scenes like Saving Private Ryan. The violence was much easier to watch, but just as harrowing.
This seemed to be a more human film, as well. Showing each different soldier's private war, and the way they deal with fight inside, as well as on the battlefield. Watching the ordeal of the Japanese army revealed them to be as human as the allied forces. Whereas SPR used the Germans as faceless, almost comic-like villains, TTRL also dealt with the effect of the war on the enemy, rather than concentrating on the "good guys".
All in all, this a great film. It shows you the terrifying battlefields of war, the peaceful splendour of the jungle and the spirituality of the men fighting for their country. It stand as a classic in the years that follow.