Director Terence Malick is the J.D. Salinger of Hollywood. He comes out of seclusion about every 20 years and directs a masterpiece before going back into the woodwork.

He doesn’t stand out as a larger-than-life personality to the general public, but big-name actors in Hollywood will stand in line to take a bit part in one of his films.

“The Thin Red Line” was written by James Jones and is Malick’s latest masterpiece. At just under three hours, it is nothing short of an epic.

The film tells the story of C-company, the Army rifle company which relieved the Marines after the battle of Guadalcanal, which eventually resulted in stopping the Japanese advance in the Pacific.

This is much more than a war movie — it is an exploration of various themes, including the invasion of nature by technology, the dual nature of man embodying good and evil, the horrors of battle and the relationships that develop between men in combat.

The story begins with the AWOL Private Witt (portrayed by one of the film’s newcomers, Jim Caviezel) living amongst the Melanese.

After his capture, he rejoins his company and is placed in a disciplinary stretcher-bearer unit by his Sergeant (Sean Penn) who is Witt’s primary adversary, confidant and confessor.

It is mostly the relationship between these two men that is explored during several expository sequences which were largely unrehearsed and unscripted improvisations.

Penn and Caviezel have nearly as much chemistry on screen as Hepburn and Tracy. The dialogue in their scenes together is filled with quiet power as they try to make sense of the horror around them.

The cinematography plays heavily in this film. John Toll is the cinematographer responsible for capturing the lush jungle scenes on celluloid.

It is his vision which conveys to the audience the sense that we have invaded a pristine paradise. The birds, the trees, the fields and the streams are nearly untouched until the invasion tramples under the war-weary boots of civilization.

Among the big names who were willing to take any role just to be in a Malick film is Nick Nolte, who plays Colonel Tall, an aging military man who is looking forward to having the chance to prove himself a great leader in combat.

Nolte’s performance as Tall exudes obsession, but it is more than a one-dimensional performance. Tall forces his men to fight on before water can be delivered to them. And during a speech in which he rallies his troops to fight for glory, he manages to have no trouble getting volunteers for a dangerous maneuver up a heavily guarded ridge.

Tall is driven by more than one demon, which is what makes Nolte’s portrayal complex in the relatively short amount of screen time he has. There is guilt and insecurity in his necessary actions, and members of the audience could interpret them in a myriad of ways.

It is this complexity which makes “The Thin Red Line” more than just another attempt to glorify combat. It brings the audience to a deeper understanding of the horror, as well as the inevitability, of war.

Perhaps one of the most poignant scenes comes after the battle up the guarded ridge when the Japanese camp is taken by the young soldiers of Charlie company. Fear and exhaustion combine with the adrenaline of combat in this scene.

It shows us American boys acting and reacting to the Japanese soldiers they come across, sometimes with anger, sometimes with fear and sometimes with compassion.

Each soldier faces his true self, and that is the most frightening aspect of war in this epic. That is the message we are given this time, and it is a more sophisticated message than the war and anti-war movies of past decades.

This film manages to be something more than either of its predecessors. It is ultimately more human.

For anyone looking for a genuinely new cinematic experience which educates and enlightens without trying to shove mind-candy on the audience, “The Thin Red Line” fits the bill nicely.

It has integrity, great character development and visuals that remind us what film-making was meant to be. You will not be disappointed.

5 stars out of five

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Greg Jerrett is a graduate student in English from Council Bluffs.