The Thin Red Line, based on the novel by James Jones, written and directed by Terrence Malick, 9 out of 10

The Thin Red Line, based on the novel by James Jones, written and directed by Terrence Malick

9 out of 10

Notes and thoughts on other books are available at:

-              https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E and   http://realini.blogspot.ro/

This astonishing work seems to be, for large segments, more of a cinematic poem than a film about war.

It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Screenplay…

Strangely, it was not nominated for any Golden Globes, but won the Berlin International Film Festival top prize- The Golden Berlin bear.

1999 was the year of Shakespeare in Love, La Vita e Bella, Saving Private Ryan, which shared the most important cinema awards.

The Thin Red Line is not an “author film”, notion which is in itself disputed, but the influence of Terrence Malick is evident.

William Goldman explains in his classic Adventures in the Screen Trade that the idea that the director can be a one-man-band and therefore the result would be an author movie is wrong since there is a team involved in the project.

Just enumerating the cast of this film could sound like a Who’s Who in Hollywood:

-          Jim Caviezel- the hero Private Witt, Nick Nolte- Lt. Col. Gordon Tall, John Travolta- Brigadier General Quintard, Sean Penn, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson, Jared Leto, George Clooney and we could continue…

The complexity of the film is the most outstanding feature in my view, for we have the peace and tranquility of the beginning and other scenes and the terror and extreme violence brought in this paradise by World War II.

-          Private Edward P. Train: What's this war in the heart of nature? Why does nature vie with itself? The land contend with the sea? Is there an avenging power in nature? Not one power, but two?

These are the first lines and they are read on a background of incredible serenity, in the middle of nature.

These “Serenity Now!” scenes are in stark contrast with the images of war, people blown away, bodies scattered all over the front line.

“Private Witt: [voice over] We were a family. How'd it break up and come apart, so that now we're turned against each other? Each standing in the other's light. How'd we lose that good that was given us? Let it slip away. Scattered it, careless. What's keepin' us from reaching out, touching the glory?”

The main message seems to be that war is absurd and the opposition of the beautiful, peaceful island with the horror of war can only serve to better outline, emphasize the appalling horror of war and the destruction it brings.

Jim Caviezel brings a strange air, has a charismatic, peculiar manner that is suited for characters that are out of this world.

He could after all take on the role of Jesus in the controversial Mel Gibson production of The Passion of the Christ.

With all these stupendous actors –only very few women are present in this War film- the scenery, jungle and native people play an equally, if not more important part.

The film could have been a failure, for there could also be a disconnect between the landscapes of peaceful natives rowing their boats and opening their coconut nuts and the gruesome explosions and mass killing.

But Terrence Malick pulls it off, with the support of so many outstanding artists and the meditation and Zen atmosphere offer a counter point, a message of peace and compassion as an alternative to the extreme violence of armed conflict.

“Private Edward P. Train: [narration] This great evil, where's it come from? How'd it steal into the world? What seed, what root did it grow from? Who's doing this? Who's killing us, robbing us of life and light, mocking us with the sight of what we might've known? Does our ruin benefit the earth, does it help the grass to grow, the sun to shine? Is this darkness in you, too? Have you passed through this night?”

There are some humorous exchanges in what is for the most part a very serious, thought provoking drama and war film:

“Japanese Soldier: We know you're there, Yankee!

Sergeant Keck: Tojo eats shit!

Japanese Soldier: No, Roosevelt eats shit!”