Viewers will get lost in the wanderings of this dreamlike movie about World War II, which contains flashes of brilliance and lapses in judgment too big to overlook. Malick is an intriguing figure who hasn't made a movie in 20 years. The time off hasn't affected the beauty of his style or the philosophical bent of his temperament. Although he's chosen a well-known James Jones novel as the basis for his return to movies, Malick isn't interested in straightforward storytelling. The images are so beautiful you could get drunk on them.
Sunlight filters through a canopy of trees.
In wordless flashbacks, a soldier remembers the small, intimate details of being with his wife. With these fluid, abstract scenes, Malick tries to physically capture something less comprehensible than even war. He wants to do nothing less than to record the oneness of existence. Unfortunately, the visual power doesn't hide the movie's problems. The soldiers are introduced so haphazardly it's difficult at first to tell them apart.