Review of The Thin Red Line (1998) by Dan D — 24 May 2011
You don't watch Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line", you experience it. This really isn't a war movie, its a movie about death and how soldiers are expected to accept their place in war.
Usually having a huge ensemble cast of huge stars is distracting , but it was almost necessary to have well known actors because you feel an enormous amount of attachment to all of the characters and the horrors they experience.
I have never seen a movie so different from every other war film. You never see the merciless killing of either side portrayed in a heroic manner. You see soldiers fumble over their weapons, trip over rocks and fall on their faces.
War is never portrayed as heroic in this movie and it is never taken lightly. I think its impossible for anyone to feel or see the same thing while watching "The Thin Red Line", its meaning is never concrete.
I don't think I will ever completely figure out what it's true meaning is ,but that's why Malick's "The Thin Red Line" is a human experience and not a movie.
This review of The Thin Red Line (1998) was written by Dan D on 24 May 2011.
The Thin Red Line has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
