Review of The Thin Red Line (1998) by Zachary B — 22 May 2013

When my Mother passed away, it was a shock, and I was very confused and frightened. I had no idea how to handle it or how I was even supposed to feel. I had a lot of sadness, and I didn't know what to do with any of it. The first time I ever saw The Thin Red Line was one week after I lost my Mother. The Thin Red Line is a war film, but it is an art film above all else. The Thin Red Line is 'a thought-provoking mediation on man, nature, and violence'. I had no idea what I was in for.

One of the very first pieces of dialogue is spoken by a character named Pvt. Witt.

He says, "I remember my mother when she was dying, she was all shrunk up and grey. I asked her if she was afraid, she shook her head no. I was afraid to touch the death I seen in her. I couldn't find nothing beautiful or uplifting about her going back to God. I wondered what it'd be like when I died, to know that this was the last breath you was ever going to draw. I just hoped I could meet it with the same calm she did. Cause that's where it's hidden. The immortality I hadn't seen.".

The emotional toll this film would put me through would be immense, something I have never felt before or will ever feel again. The Thin Red Line spoke to me in a way a piece of art has never spoken to me before. Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Pvt. Witt, delivered a performance and created a character that changed my life. I have never identified closer with a film character before. 'Identified' isn't even the right word for it, an out-of-body experience is more accurate. It was unreal. The film had an almost therapeutic effect on me, without me even knowing it, I was sorting myself out. I was getting better.

The film itself is pure poetry, the film is brilliant. Terrence Malick's best. The ensemble cast the films boasts redefines the term 'star studded'. Jim Caviezel, Elias Koteas, Nick Nolte, John Travolta, George Clooney, John Cusack, Jared Leto, Nick Stahl, Adrien Brody, John C. Rielly, Woody Harrelson, and Sean Penn are only but a handful of the wonderful actors you will find in this film. The film displays the best use of voice-overs that I have ever seen. The Thin Red Line is a one-of-a-kind picture, and one that you must open yourself up to completely. Malick is a master of film, and The Thin Red Line is the strongest evidence to support that claim. The Thin Red Line will change the way you think about and view films. It will open your eyes to a whole new world of possibilities. That world is Malick's vision.

I am still in awe. What The Thin Red Line did for me is almost hard to completely grasp. It didn't make everything better, it is my girlfriend and my family who helped me finally heal. The Thin Red Line put me on the road to recovery, and that in and of itself is a wholly remarkable thing for a film to do for a person. The Thin Red Line changed me forever.

This is a film that wants to speak to to you. Listen.