Film Appreciation : The Thin Red Line

THIN RED LINE by TERRENCE MALIK (DIRECTOR)

Storyline :

The movie is base on James Jones novel. During World War 2, the battle of Guadalcanal had bring an impact that will strongly influence the Japanese's advance into the pacific. The start of the film is by a narrative voice over by Witt who  is an AOWL (absence without leaving) US Army Private who living with Melanesian natives in the South Pacific. A private boat were searches for Witt and another private AOWL which is understood at the end of the scene. The war itself is horror, it forms the soldiers into a tight-knit group, their emotions develop into bonds of love and even family. They are fighting with a war that they know nothing much on it and they even have to face with fear of death.

Two different Scenes that we are going to discuss :

Scene 1 : The crocodile scene 

This scene is under the opening of the movie, a crocodile is crawling into the water. Looking the crocodile slowly get inside the water, the camera start to focus on it’s eye. The lighting is low key, therefore the crocodile is almost in dark colour tone and the water in the scene is dark green tone. A foreboding music is play.

Interpretation :

This scene is quite a successful play, the director cleverly used a crocodile as an icon to symbolizes as the instinct of nature to survive, if necessarily, by killing. Same goes to the war, the moment you get involved into the war, you will have to fight for victory and for an army, he will definitely fight for survive, if necessarily, by killing too. The metaphor for this scene is death, danger and hunter, it will lead reader to make a mental comparisons between crocodile and war. A foreboding music is play to prompt the reader to understand the crocodile foreshadows death. Follow by the next scene is another peaceful and harmony jungle scene. I definitely will like the director showing another comparisons by using the jungle scene, to show out the difference between danger and peaceful.

Scene 2 : The Canopy Scene ( Jungle )
This scene show of canopy of trees shooting with the light occasionally over exposing in the film. Playing with an soft and beautiful music. Later on follow by a voice over, the music turn to be the background music of the voice over.

"What is this war in the heart of nature?
Why does nature vie with itself?
This land contends with the sea.
Is there an avenging power in nature?
Not one power, but two."
- The first voice over is a poem about war.


Interpretation :
Nature always giving us a feel of peaceful and harmony. The poem is like asking a questions about humanity, why does we have to fight with each other since we are in the same motherland and why is there to have two avenging power in nature. For me, I feel like the power that state in the poem, is about the avenging power that bring by the war itself. Two different country are trying hard to fight for their victory.


*Author of this post : Chan Wei Kee