I just watched the movie for the second time (first was many years ago), and came to see the comments...It seems there are mostly 2 sides: one that got deeply moved and thought-provoked by it, and others who watched it only to see what the hype is about and find flaws...For me, this is one of the movies that influences your perspective on live and through which you uncover another small bit of realization about the human nature...If you're looking for an action, war movie, you won't find it here - it will be too long and too philosophical. If you're looking for something "deep" but which will be fully defined, chewed up and served to you, you'll probably find it "pretentious and egoistical" like some of the comments here.But if you let yourself into it without pre-set expectations and opinion, take in all that is going on and let your thoughts dig a bit into some of the directions, you'll find a masterfully created art that takes a period of time and a location and just shows it to you, along with people in it, from multiple angles, not telling you what to think. Then you are, at the same time, exposed to the beauty and duality of nature (tranquility and violence), men which are a part of it, that are conflicted by that same duality, to their (most often) disconnected thoughts while they are trying to make sense of things that are happening and the essence of it ("What is killing us?", "What's keepin' us from reaching out, touching the glory?")...There are no good guys or bad guys, no heros nor villains, no conclusions or answers, no story (in traditional sense) - and it's still one of the most effective, daring and influential anti-war movies ever...If you want to, you will find plenty of topics in the movie (nature, temporality and relative insignificance of man and his conflict's and goals, free will, love, morality, idealism, death, God, goodness, survival...) and lots of symbolism, but never forced upon you...If you want to see a movie primarily as form of entertainment, this is probably not a best choice. But if you want to be exposed to art, as in - a creation that will provoke heavier emotions, change your mood, make you think your own thoughts and keep you "submerged" in it for a bit longer - this is one of those that truly belongs in that category.

In the 1970's Terrence Malick's directorial debut "Badlands", and 5 years later "days of heaven" established him as a fresh, unique voice in a decade that produced a new generation of film makers. Both offerings were both powerful and visually beautiful, and then, he disappeared for twenty years.... He returned to direct one of the greatest war films of all time. No The Thin Red Line does not have a typical story line, but neither does life, and that is what Malick captures and expresses in Red Line so honest and eloquently. Rather than the typical Hollywood plot arc, Malick instead focuses on the conflict, love, and fear the characters are going thru at that moment in time, and in relation to the war. It saddens me but does not surprise me that there are people who don't get Thin Line. Thankfully both critics in the states and around the world both "got" Thin Line, and also often considered it to be the best film of the decade. War is a traumatic experience, and Malick captures that with the honest narration that threads throughout the film. He exposes the characters with their inner narrations, offering the viewer a deeper, and more vulnerable portrait than is usually depicted in typical war films. In many ways it's more a profound character film with the backdrop of war secondary, serving as a setting to explore these characters. Never have I seen a film, or director who better explores the human character so honestly as Malick. That combined with the stunning choreography makes for a unique and beautiful cinematic experience. It's my guess that the people who don't get this film or Malick, are probably also the people who don't get life on a deeper and more honest level.

Some American soldiers walking, crawling through the grass somewhere in the Pacific, in World Ward II. Te steady camera stays low so you can reach out your hand to touch the soldiers. The wind sweeps through or blows in from the sea as if it was aware of what's at stake. All in these fighting scenes seems perfectly organized and undoubtedly suits Terrence Malik's purpose with this film: a deep and stark reflection on the human condition in the context of a ruthless war.Unlki so many other war films, The Thin Red Line allows the narrative to take over. Blood, cruelty and fate are still there as they are a part of any war, but this films takes it all onto a different path to approach the unavoidable question: What's left of a human being if you take away what gives life sense? And the response, as tough as it is, is simple: nothing . This is very well conveyed by showing us characters who have to put up with the "dehumanazation machine" that war is and do so by contracting themselves, by betraying or even denying the inner desires and convictions. Is redemption possible for them? Another tool Malicks uses wisely is language. Along with soldiers'slang, there are some poetic lines here and there that make up the thoughts the soldiers'thoughts, which we get to hear. The actors do a pretty good job depicting human beings on the brink of collapse, facing the mos challenging moment in their lives. Yet the experience of killing another human being is a life-changing experience for everybody, I never had the feeling that the film was made to let this or that character outshine the rest and drive the plot forward single handedly. On the contrary, what's great is the sense of wonder, of watching a film that has to be understood as a whole. Aney attempt of breaking it down into smaller pieces, would be nothing but a waste of time. Wouldn't it be better if we'd just go along with what we are offer? Thus, perhaps, we could ask ourselves some questions.

In my opinion, the most beautiful yet powerful movie of all time. It shows you the beautiful side of nature, and the horrors of war in the most mesmerizing way possible. With the most stunning score of Hans Zimmer's makes this, my second favorite war movies of all time, after Apocalypse Now of course.