Gives us something beyond what we have come to expect from a movie

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2016)

As I continue my journey of experiencing Terrence Malick movies, I see that this one is almost as indispensable as The Tree of Life (2011), which still stands alone in terms of asking questions about life and its meaning. After making beautiful movies such as Badlands (1973) and Days of Heaven (1978), Malick seems to have taken another path with his movies.
These movies give us something beyond what we have come to expect from a movie. They use beautiful photography, but they also use a new element of internal dialogue (through voice over) within the characters— wondering and questioning meaning. While using the movie as a vehicle, they give us questions without clear-cut answers and leave us to think way beyond the usual surface level of life. The questions may, or may not, be deep, but they do exist within characters' minds, if only in passing. This great (mostly young) male cast only helps to make the movie better.
This movie—based on James Jones' autobiographical novel--is set in WW II as US soldiers try to retake territory occupied by Japan. The movie received seven Oscar nominations.