This is my first Terrence Malick film. I've heard about how great he
is, but also heard how terrible some people think he is. Well, based on
one film, I certainly wouldn't say he is terrible, but, he has a style
that is different. It won't be for everyone. Not saying I love the
style, but, I do appreciate it.
The film is set in the south pacific, at somepoint during WW2. It
starts out like a dream almost. But, slowly we're brought into this
world of soldiers, and the film starts to take shape as we follow these
soldiers into a brutal battle.
For me, the distinguishing qualities in this film to others is the
long glances that Malick uses on his characters. He doesn't seem to be
afraid to capture a scene, to let the audience soak it in and think
about what you're seeing. The other distinguishing element about this
film is the voiceover. It's like we're being told a story, or we're
getting an insight into the characters minds. Their fears, their
thoughts of this war, life, love and so on. Sometimes I think I got so
swept up in watching what was going on, I forgot to listen.
The battle/fight scenes are quite well done, as you would expect of
war films. You're caught right in the middle, as soldiers are blown
apart by bombs and gunfire around you. Malick again does well to show us
this horror, but he juxtaposes this physical violence with the trauma
on the soldiers mental state. It's not all blood and guts, but a large
character portrait on the toll these soldiers take. I thought it was
also interesting to see the Japanese soldiers suffering as well. The
'badguys' are not faceless. They hurt and agonise just like
the 'goodguys'.
A twitter/letterboxd friend used the word poetic when describing
Malicks films. I have to say, I can see what he meant. There is this
seemingly poem like way the film is structured and presented. I
certainly admired this movie, and hope to revisit it again one day. It
stands up there with some other great war films I've seen, like
Apocalypse Now, Platoon and Saving Private Ryan.
Rating:
4 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment