Based
on James Jones’s autobiographical novel of the same title
that was unsuccessfully made into a film in 1964, The
Thin Red Line has been nominated for an award as this
year’s best film in raising the consciousness of filmviewers
on the advantages of peaceful methods for resolving conflicts.
Filmed in the Solomon Islands, where Jones participated in
the Battle of Guadalcanal, the film exposes the innermost
thoughts of battle participants, one of whom tells us that
war turns humans into dogs. The film has received rave reviews
for creating a kind of French impressionist canvass with its
combination of poetic voice-overs, brutal action scenes, breathtaking
cinematography of flora and fauna of Guadalcanal, everyday
peaceful lives of Solomon Islanders, and pensive music. Thanks
to director Terrence Malick, who may well have upstaged Steven
Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, we leave the
theater no longer naïve about the consequences of committing
troops, however noble the cause. MH
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