War Movie Month: The Thin Red Line (1998)

"Malick's Guadalcanal would be a Paradise Lost, an Eden, raped by the green poison, as Terry would call it, of war. Much of the violence was to be portrayed indirectly. A soldier is shot, but rather than show a Spielbergian bloody face we see a tree explode, the shredded vegetation, and a beautiful bird with a broken wing flying out of a tree"

-Producer Robert Geisler on Malick's vision for the film

This movie marks the return of Terrence Malick, whose last film Days of Heaven, was released twenty years earlier. This movie is a great example of filmmaking. It has a gripping storyline, stunning visuals and stellar performances from a cast with more stars that has ever been seen.

The movie recounts a fictionalised version of one of the battles in the Guadalcanal Campaign during the Pacific War in WWII. Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) has been found after going AWOL and is reassigned to Charlie Company under the leadership of First Sergeant Welsh (Sean Penn). Led by Lieutenant Colonel Tall (Nick Nolte), the men in the battalion are charged with capturing and controlling an island currently held by the Japanese.

The story is accompanied by narration from various soldiers who all ponder the point of war. This narration is usually voiced over stunning landscapes of Queensland (where the film was shot). The narration does not extend as far as the battle scenes, which have Hans Zimmer's beautiful score drowning out the sounds of war. One scene where this is especially prevalent is when the battalion finally takes the Japanese camp. The soldiers run through the camp and kill all who aren't surrendering, but if you were to close your eyes and listen, this is not the image that you get.

There are four main characters that most of the action focuses on. Caviezel, Nolte, Penn and Elias Koteas all carry most of the plot. But it's the cameos that take you off guard. Stars like Adrien Brody, George Clooney, Jared Leto, John Travolta and Woody Harrelson all have tiny parts in the film. I can only imagine that this was due to their excitement at hearing that Terrence Malick was making a film after twenty years and jumped at the opportunity to work with the acclaimed director.

Verdict: This movie searches for the emotional core of war and does a pretty good job and finding it through a sea of heavy themes. Much better than Saving Private Ryan, the other big WWII film that came out in 1998.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

If there has ever been a more esoteric film, The Grand Budapest Hotel is it. All the fans of Wes Anderson's films will immediately pick up on the formalities of his work and enjoy the film immensely. But don't think that if you haven't seen any of his films previously that you won't see it because you'll be missing out on some larger picture. Rather, it is a great introduction to his world. I think that may have to do with Ralph Fiennes, who comes fresh to the films of Wes Anderson.

Indeed, the majority of the film falls on the more than competent shoulders of Fiennes. This film, however, is a huge departure for him as he usually plays insidious characters (Harry Waters in In Bruges, Amon Göth in Schindler's List, Voldermort in the Harry Potter films). He plays Gustave H., the bubbly concierge at the titular hotel, where he wines and dines many of the older female clientele. One such guest, Madame D. (the wonderfully enigmatic Tilda Swinton), ends up being murdered and Gustave is the prime suspect. This is after he becomes the most profitable recipient of Madame D.'s will.

To help Gustave clear his name is the young lobby boy Zero Moustafa. He is played by the talented young Tony Revolori, for whom this is his first major role. He and Fiennes make an excellent comedic duo playing off each other perfectly and you can feel as though the role of mentor that Fiennes takes up must have spilled over to reality.

A lot of the humour in the film comes in very punctuated moments that are both absolutely absurd and shocking. But there are a lot of jokes that are very quick and funny, mainly quips spouted by Gustave, a lot of them to do with poetry or advice for young Zero.

Of course there are a huge number of other people in this film. F. Murray Abraham plays an older Zero and gives the film some of it's more emotionally insightful moments. Adrien Brody's foul-mouthed Dmitri also gives the film some more comedy as his swearing at times seems completely unwarranted (I should know).

From a technical standpoint this is a fun film to watch. Anderson's trademarks of models and fixed camera angles are all here, but the the most enjoyable thing about the film is that it's aspect ratio changes throughout the film. This has largely to do with the fact that the film is a series of flashbacks piled on top of each other.

Verdict: A hugely enjoyable film for everyone to watch. It is fantastically funny and at the same time has some beautifully reflective scenes. Watch out for the Schindler's List reference toward the end.