The Thin Red Line

One of the most prominent themes throughout the film was the relationship between man and nature. The setting of this film was during the  Battle of Guadalcanal and the stark contrast between war and the sublime found in nature was very profound. In the beginning imagery of the film there is an ominous presence of a crocodile gliding into the water. Often these creatures are very symbolic of being a threatening presence which parallels with war as a threatening presence. In the next few scenes following after the crocodile imagery you see people interacting with nature by swimming and bathing in the water. There is a peace and sublime beauty to these interactions and the way nature is seen throughout these scenes. Private Witt is living on the island with the natives and enjoying the world around him and the peace that is being reflected through nature while he is away from war. But these moments of peace are short lived after Private Witt is called away for active duty in the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The visuals of the film are very prominent in telling the jarring relationship between man made things vs nature. Such as in the scene when the ship that comes to take Private Witt away from the island sails away from the island, you can see the black smog contrast against the beautiful island. A stark image presented in the film was when the green crocodile was submerging into the green moss which paralleled with the soldiers attire and they themselves being submerged into the green grass. Like the crocodile they were ready strike a threat and an attack against their enemies. One of the themes I was grappling with throughout the film was the purpose of war and why these men even need to go to war. I think that the the movie does a really good job through its cinematography the jarring relationship between man and nature.


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