Thin Red Line - Eric Trautwein

The film, Thin Red Line, does a wonderful job at tying in chaos and peace. In the scenes that we watched as a class, we witnessed the never ending killing of American and Japanese soldiers. The scenes that were most violent, or riddled with death, the filmmaker would break off for a brief moment and focus on a serene and majestic aspect of nature, to counter all the violence. These majestic and peaceful scenes contained the beautiful swaying of tall grass, the trickle of a river, or a jungle animal. These moments of peace, which were enveloped in war, showed how even through dark times filled with death and terror, life continued to progress. This was especially prevalent in the very beginning of the film when the American soldiers were marching into the jungle when a lonesome indigenous fellow walks past them without a worry on his mind. The indigenous mans carefree walk through the jungle was the complete opposite of the Americans tense and timid march into the jungle, once again conveying that the life continues.

Thin Red Line also did a good job at portraying the struggles of the American and Japanese soldiers. The movie portrayed the terrors of war and how they affect the emotional and physical wellbeing of the soldiers. There were scenes that showed an American soldier who had literally lost his mind and was wandering around the battlefield questioning why God had killed so many, but not him. A powerful scene that conveyed the feelings of the Japanese soldiers was when the American forces stormed a Japanese camp. As the American soldiers ran through the camp you could see fear on the Japanese soldiers faces. I felt that this scene, and many others, gave an honest portrayal of the American soldiers, and was important to the integrity of the film. It seems to be a trend that American war movies portray the US soldiers as heroes, who always do the right thing and can do no wrong. Thin Red Line showed a different side of the American soldiers, the honest side, and really displayed what war can do to ones morals.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with Thin Red Line and its ability to capture the raw moments of war. It portrayed the actions, heroic and evil, of the two different sides at war. Most importantly, the film was able to show how life, during times of war and chaos, is peaceful.