A POEM OF CINEMATOGRAPHY...

Rating: 9/10 (4 September 2001)

There are times, when the word "masterpiece" cannot fully express the excellence of an artwork. And words as "poem", or "saga" try to fill the void. But in some occasions, the phrases and words seem so empty, when we're looking at an experience of cinema so majestic and flawless...	"The Thin Red Line", or "TRL" for short, is one of the few poems of the modern Cinema. Hopefully, not one of the last as well. Because the watching of "TRL" creates a feeling of elevation, a feeling that there will never be something so wonderful again. "TRL" has all the elements of a successful film. The cast, which brings together some of the greatest performers of our time, is guided superbly by a director who knows perfectly what he wants to say, and manages to say it without doubts or fears. The location, a bloody battlefield. A hell in the middle of paradise (or is it paradise inside hell?), captured magically by the camera lens, appearing almost alive, with its own will and rules. The score, both meaningful and beautiful, helps in pointing the tension and the flooding emotions of the characters. In one line, we could say that "TRL" is a perfect example of technology that supports characters, not vice versa. And this could be the key to a successful film in our hard, weird cinematographic times...