Terrence Malick's masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (10 July 2011)

As I said in my Tree of Life review Terrence Malick's style is one I highly appreciate rather than adore. That doesn't stop me though from liking his films a great deal. The Thin Red Line was my first Malick, and after seeing five of them it is still my favourite.
The pace is meditative, but I had no problem with that. This film wasn't only a war film, it was also a meditation of war, so the pacing was appropriate I feel, not only that I find this meditative pace is a characteristic of Terrence Malick, his films being visually beautiful yet meditative.
As is the case with his work, Malick does do a superb job directing, the visuals are astounding and the music is very haunting as well. The story may seem pretentious, but I was too transfixed and absorbed by what was going on to care, and how it treated war was interesting and different with "Every man fights his own war".
The action is genuinely tense with an atmosphere that is genuinely authentic(for example you can smell the sweat literally), and I also found some scenes quite moving. The dialogue is provokes thought and the characters are often real in a compelling sense. The acting is as good as can be, particularly from Sean Penn and Nick Nolte.
All in all, a fine film and Malick's masterpiece. 10/10 Bethany Cox