The Thin Red Line (1998)
WMB Rating:
(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) 
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1998's The Thin Red Line takes us to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. Based on the novel of the same name by James Jones, its a long and arduous journey into...
...well I'm still trying to figure that out. The Thin Red Line is a visual masterpiece, I will give you that. But there is more here than a few pretty pictures and excellent camerawork, but I'll be damned if I have any sort of grasp on it.
There are a few separate plots going on here, the one we are shown at first is that of Private Witt (James Caviezel), who has gone AWOL to live among the natives. He's discovered, and thrown back under the command of 1st Sgt. Welsh (Sean Penn), who ships him off to be a stretcher bearer, as a disciplinary measure.
Witt's story I think is central to the movie. I keep saying "I think" because from where I sit this picture doesn't have a clear "story" per se. Rather a message. I've read some interpretations of it, and they sound good. While I've not read the book either, you come away with one clear feeling. The notion of the soldier as the "property" of the state, and that as that property you are nothing. Maybe its just my own cynical nature impeding on the true message, but I get that. Especially when one of them grabs a handful of dirt, as they're trying to take the hill, and proclaims "this is all we are."
And there is another one that I see, which is the duality present in war. The horror and terror that goes on in the face of the beauty of nature. The natives on the island really don't seem to care what's going on around them. It doesn't matter to them in the long run, they are a part of that nature, and it's not going to change no matter what.
There is also an exploration of where the different aspects of human nature, such as love, and hate (aka war) arise from. I think that there was a good attempt at this, but it just came across as disjointed and somewhat confusing. "Out of nowhere" would be a good way to describe these parts of the film.
Er, oh yes, back to Witt. Well, um. He disappears for a while after that, during the initial incursion on the island. This part of the movie actually isn't that bad, and really comprises the only real military action of the film. Really the "battle" is its own little film tucked inside of "Red Line."
You've got the frustrated Lt. Col Tall (Nick Nolte) who continues to order his men to certain death to take a Japanese bunker. There's the equally frustrated-at-Tall Capt. Staros (Elias Koteas), who defies Tall's orders.... And the squad who eventually takes the hill, led by Capt. Gaff (John Cusack). This action paves the way to eventually overrun the Japanese camp, which is (in keeping with the nature of the film) at the same time a terrible, horrible look at humanity, beautifully choreographed against an equally beautiful piece of baroque classical soundtrack...
Taken out of context, this "act" of the film is really quite brilliant.
...and then, when its over, you realize that there's still an hour left in this picture. From there it diverges into the same old same old. Lots of gorgeous shots of the jungle, the nature, the wildlife. Lots of narration and "thinking out loud" on the part of Witt and a few of the others.
Also keep an eye out for a myriad of cameos, such as George Clooney and John Travolta.
I don't know. I saw The Thin Red Line once not long after it was first released, and didn't much care for it then. Now, with a few more war movies under my belt I think I have a stronger grasp on it, but I still just don't get it. It's long, and at times dreadfully dull, even when you realize it's supposed to be, and you're supposed to be thinking, but you're not sure about what....
Still, given the excellent vision, and the brilliant second "act" of the film I'm going to rate The Thin Red Line with a fairly high, and probably generous seven.
Technorati Tags: war movies, review, the thin red line, 1998, world war ii, guadalcanal, terence malick
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Description
Adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.Genre: Feature Film-DramaRating: RRelease Date: 20-MAY-2003Media Type: DVD
One of the cinema's great disappearing acts came to a close with the release of The Thin Red Line in late 1998. Terrence Malick, the cryptic recluse who withdrew from Hollywood visibility after the release of his visually enthralling masterpiece Days of Heaven (1978), returned to the director's chair after a 20-year coffee break. Malick's comeback vehicle is a fascinating choice: a wide-ranging adaptation of a World War II novel (filmed once before, in 1964) by James Jones. The battle for Guadalcanal Island gives Malick an opportunity to explore nothing less than the nature of life, death, God, and courage. Let that be a warning to anyone expecting a conventional war flick; Malick proves himself quite capable of mounting an exciting action sequence, but he's just as likely to meander into pure philosophical noodling--or simply let the camera contemplate the first steps of a newly birthed tropical bird, the sinister skulk of a crocodile. This is not especially an actors' movie--some faces go by so quickly they barely register--but the standouts are bold: Nick Nolte as a career-minded colonel, Elias Koteas as a deeply spiritual captain who tries to protect his men, Ben Chaplin as a G.I. haunted by lyrical memories of his wife. The backbone of the film is the ongoing discussion between a wry sergeant (Sean Penn) and an ethereal, almost holy private (newcomer Jim Caviezel). The picture's sprawl may be a result of Malick's method of "finding" a film during shooting and editing, and in some ways The Thin Red Line seems vaguely, intriguingly incomplete. Yet it casts a spell like almost nothing else of its time, and Malick's visionary images are a challenge and a signpost to the rest of his filmmaking generation. --Robert Horton
DVD Information
Binding: DVDAspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Brand: PENN,SEAN/NOLTE,NI
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Original Release Date:
Actors:
- Jim Caviezel
- Sean Penn
- Nick Nolte
- Elias Koteas
- Ben Chaplin
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