More Than Speilberg's Pallid Simulation of War

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2000)

Although some prefer the big budget simulations offered by Spielberg such as Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line offers a much more subtle and thoughtful, if not always successful, alternative. As a historian, I would suggest that "simulations" of War or Holocaust will always fall flat, because they cannot hope to match the shear enormity of the experience. Saving Private Ryan encourages us to identify with the characters and their situations, and in the end fools us into believing that we actually understand what it was like at D-Day, while in fact simply reinforcing familiar myths and preconceived notions of war. In essence I would argue that Saving Private Ryan fails for the very reason we think it is good, because it fools us into believing that it is "realistic" and thus we are now drawn to it as initiates in the sacred knowledge of war. The Thin Red Line is not a grand simulation, a heroic tale, or yet another ode to the "Greatest Generation." Rather, it is a poetic piece suggesting the irreconcilable differences between life/humanity and war. On the surface it is rather a conventional and familiar narrative--capture the hill against impossible odds-- but the actual underlying story is one of escape. In fact many different very personal escapes from military situations which ask men and women to sacrifice their morals, their consciences, their lives, their careers, their singular happiness. This film is not always successful... the Notlte role, while a crowd-pleaser-is a bit broad--and the screen play is at times uneven, but it is a rare case of a truly ensemble cast, devoid of the usual overblown characters, bad accents etc. In particular, the actor playing Witt is superb. The broader public will always prefer the easy flattery of Saving Private Ryan, which makes everyone feel in control and knowledgable.... I would rather suggest a more difficult, but more fruitful path. If the the Thin Red Line still falls short, it is already miles ahead of the pallid simulations