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The Thin Red Line | Year: 1999 Classification: Drama Directed: - Terrence Malick Actors/Actresses: - John Cusack - James Caviezel - Woody Harrelson - Thomas Jane - Sean Penn - John C Reilly - John Travolta - George Clooney - Nick Nolte - Johntravolta - Tim Blake Nelson dreamlike, surreal masterpeace Boring? Overlong? Not at all. Take your time and it's worth it! Yes it's slow, but that's one of its qualities! One viewer said, the landing scene doesn't pay off. Exactly! Nothing's there to fight! No bullets! Nothing - and this makes it even more scarier, doesn't it? We came to expect that war is gung-ho action, blood etc. but above all, it's fear. No 'ey buddy we're all in the same together' - but a feeling of loneliness. TRL is not really a film about war but how soldiers react. Of course some of the voice-over is too metaphorical, too greasy, but there's also lots of truth in it. And if you sit there in the theatre, ultimately alone, you start to think about all that's going around in your head. TRL is a very personal film, everybody sees something different in it. From the technical point of view: it's gorgeously filmed, pretty well acted (with some exceptions, namely Travolta) and a sometimes surreal, sometimes frighteningly real vision. A dream rather than a movie. Not for everyone, but for everyone with a soul, a heart and a little bit of time to try something new, something human. By the way: I love Saving Private Ryan as well - but so what? There's no need to compare these two in such a competitive way. They're just different. But they're both fantastic! FEAR i've read a number of reviews here, so i see no reason to rhapsodize about a classic. but i will point out a couple of things: (1) the soldiers in this movie are believable because they show us their FEAR. if you think that's a banal statement take a closer look at (yup) Saving Private Ryan. where's the fear? my point exactly; there's not a whole lot of it (besides the opening 20 minutes where the troops are under DIRECT attack). not enough for my taste. contrast this with malick's machismo-less The Thin Red LIne. fear is a common palpable theme running the ENTIRE movie. this makes for some uncomfortable viewing, sports fans, but that's war. (2) malick is the man to watch. do yourself a big favor and buy "Days of Heaven" on DVD. and rent "Badlands." "Days of Heaven" is a profound movie-watching experience that (like all classic movies) IMPROVES WITH EACH VIEWING. i'm keeping this review short because i want the people who gave The Thin Red Line 1 or 2 stars to keep reading all the way to the end. you know how it is when you've got a short attention span ... A profound spiritual experience like few films of the '90's A lot of people were surprised when Line racked up seven Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture, the year that Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan raked in the bucks and the critical acclaim. Watching Terence Malick's long-awaited followup to Days of Heaven yesterday, I thought a lot about how boldly contemplative, achingly beautiful, and curiously flawed it was and came to a realization: I'd watch this one again before I did Ryan. In an age where modern films have the license to be as complex or manipulative as they want, here comes Terence Malick ready to make a 'war' movie: except, this one carries little logistics, plot, or superficial character development. What Line has in spades, though, is the ability to create a beating heart and soul for those young, scared men who braved the deadly shores of Guadalcanal. There is little dialogue, big-name stars have less, and the movie has the same gorgeous fascination with the natural world as Heaven. What makes Line an arguably more fascinating journey than its same-year WWII flick is that dive deep into the soul that it attempts, and usually succeeds, to make; for proof, look into Jim Caviezel's eyes at any time during the movie. Yes, being a movie that reaches high for metaphors and philosophical musings, it does veer dangerously close to pretention (the voice-overs being the shakiest issue). Not to mention that the movie is three hours long and many characters never advance beyond a faintly recognizable face. I view pretention, though, as a flashy device used to disguise emptiness...and there isn't really any empty moment in the film. The Thin Red Line is far from perfect, but it's as close to capturing the spiritual and philosophical side of war than any movie I've seen. GRADE: A- Buy The Thin Red Line at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Thin Red Line Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Thin Red Line This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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