Odd combination of war, philosophy, poetry, and mysticism

Rating: 7/10 (15 August 2011)

This movie, ostensibly about the battle for Guadalcanal in WWII, changed gears so often that it often left me baffled. There is the "war is hell" aspect, and that was well done. I don't think I have ever seen a better presentation of the absolute fear that combat troops can experience; the scenes that had the soldiers packed into landing craft heading for the beach were terrifying. Everyone involved deserves praise for their work on the war part of the movie.
Some opening scenes have a couple of AWOL soldiers living a blissful existence on a Pacific island. The native islanders are in tune with nature and each other. It's a real Garden of Eden they have got going there. Malick appears to have some fascination with the idea that such a paradise is possible, or he would like to think so. There is a similar scene in the Indian camps in his "The New World." There he explicitly remarks on the perfection of the Indians and their culture. Here the peaceable initial scenes set up a contrast with what the two soldiers are to experience after they are discovered and forced to participate in the battles to come. Concluding scenes that show that the earlier paradise has been shattered are summarized with the voice-over, "How did we lose the good that was given to us?" If you find such commentary penetrating, then you may like this movie better than I.
As is true in four other Malick films I have seen, this one is beautifully filmed. Malick has the eye of an artist. I had some difficulty with the mixing of visual poetry with the horror of war. The beauty of nature is on display and, again, I assume the idea is to contrast that with the ugly battle scenes. This mixing of the sacred and profane does lend power to the comment, "What's keeping us from reaching out, touching the glory."
For every bit of philosophizing that resonated with me there were many others that seemed rather trivial, such as: "This great evil, where does it come from?"; "Nature's cruel"; "War doesn't ennoble men, it turns them into dogs"; "Love, where does it come from?" While I realize it is the intent of the movie to bring up such questions, in the context of the immediate existential threats I doubt if any of the soldiers had any more philosophical thoughts than, "I want out of here," or "What am I doing here?"
Then there are the mystical elements like the concept that maybe humans are temporary incarnations of some universal soul.
Soft classical music being played over grim happenings on screen again sets up a contrast, one that some may find more potent than I did. In any case, I think this effect has run its course, having been used in previous films such as "The Deer Hunter," and "Gallipoli." The use of such music as Arvo Pärt's "Annum per Annum," and Fauré's "Requiem" can be seen either as pretentious or as adding appropriate gravitas.
This is an interesting movie and is certainly not your typical war movie. It was well worth watching but a bit of a mixed bag for me.