What Malick seems to be saying is that there is no story in war. War is about nothing in particular. The closest thing that comes to a story is a chunk of the film dedicated to the storming of Guadalcanal. But it's not even really a story. The film is as disjointed as any this year, but where other films would crash and burn with this disjointedness, THE THIN RED LINE succeeds beyond expectations.
War is disjointed.
There is no beginning, middle, or end. It seems endless, as if years have passed within a week. Comparisons to Saving Private Ryan are hard to stay away from, but I will not try to do so. Both deal with the second World War, yet both attempt to accomplish different feats. Spielberg was steadfast about his dream to produce an anti-war picture that showed the graphic nature of real war.