One of the best films I've ever seen

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 2005)

I never had the chance (unfortunalty) to see this film in a theater - I'd pay $100 to get that chance now! I've watched this film countless times in the last few months since I bought the DVD - and every time my enjoyment and amazement of this film increases. The range of human emotion, of strengths and weaknesses, of the hopes, dreams, and failures we all experience in one way or another are all beautifully illustrated in a film that in its execution is nearly flawless. There are visual moments in this film that literally make my heart ache...and moments in the score that make my soul soar and others than cause it to weep. The cinematography is just fabulous - with every scene crafted perfectly - and fortunately without the overbearing slow-motion or heavy-handed digital manipulation which has ruined many films of late. The thing I like best about this film is that even though it is a war movie I never think of it as such....it is more a study of the transcendental nature of human thought, wonder, and emotion. Scenes like those where you see soldiers in the midst of carnage looking in amazement at some tiny jungle flower...or those where we see these men risking their lives to protect or ease the pain of wounded and dying comrades - these illustrate not just war but the human elements which both begin and end them. I strongly disagree with anyone who says that this movie shows U.S. soldiers in a negative light - war is war and that is just how it is: soldiers on both sides are seen committing evil acts and that serves to define the underpinning point of this film - that war degrades us to our basest selves, in all things. For me the most heartbreaking moment is when Fife(I believe) gets the letter from his wife asking for a divorce because she grew lonely - after he has carried her memory through such dark times. Thousands of men experienced that moment and for me it highlights the fact that not all casualties of war need be those in combat...that the thin red line between sanity and insanity stretches far beyond the battlefield and into the lives of those far from the fighting.