Malick provides us always with a mirror. This is not good or bad, but just a view of ourselves. What appeals to you about war, any kind of war, on our side our theirs? Do you like it, or see that it is necessary, or hate it and see the futility of the effort? It is most certainly never beautiful, at least not when you have lost someone to it or even look back upon it from some future point and historically. This man, by allowing us to participate in the story, let's us make our own decision. In this case, the thin line is thin because of the apparently very slight difference between our own internal decision and that which our culture, nation, and whatever else influences us directs us to make. It's up to each one of us, not the collective. In fact, this is the last war film anyone needs to see (that is, unless you like the idea of war or think that it is necessary). Watch his latest, The New World. It speaks even clearer to how much power to change the world we each have as individuals. And if you appreciate this director, you owe it to yourself to also see the films of Peter Weir.
Review of The Thin Red Line
