Review of The Thin Red Line (1998) by Victor M — 08 Mar 2016
Terrence Malick's films are what I like to call "free range" in that they don't fit into a mold or a model. They are visual poetry with something deeply spiritual to say. There's a blissful lack of cohesiveness in his work; they move like poems rather than typical narrative stories.
THE THIN RED LINE is his best film, in my opinion. He does something in this film that no other war story has been brave enough to do: he values feeling above history. This isn't a war film, because a war film is about the war itself; this is a film about what the human condition looks like in the midst of war.
There isn't any moral high ground in this film, because, I believe, that Malick has taken the stance that there is no moral high ground in war, there is only the taking of life; there is only destruction and death, not life and love. Malick's interpretation of THE THIN RED LINE is as morally ambiguous a World War II film as you are likely to ever see.
Being a believer, I feel that our war mongering society has destroyed itself and attempted to destroy the godly principals that this nation was founded on. War used to be a last resort to protect people from harm or a greater evil, not a means of displaying power. It's nice to see that Mr. Malick feels the same way.
Simply put, this is a masterpiece that rivals war films the world over.
This review of The Thin Red Line (1998) was written by Victor M on 08 Mar 2016.
The Thin Red Line has generally received very positive reviews.
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