‘What’s this war in the heart of nature?’ Fire, water, earth and air in Terrence Malick’s the thin red line
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2016
Abstract
Nature plays a crucial role in the existential conflict that Malick presents in his 1998 war film, The Thin Red Line. Man exists not only in perpetual conflict with himself but must also vie with nature. Moreover, nature too must compete against itself as well as against man. However, unlike previous analytical work on this film, this essay shows how Malick inextricably associates his major characters with one of the four natural elements in his film: Witt with water, Welsh with stone, Tall with fire, and Bell with air. As the author contends, these four associations allow Malick to underscore various aspects of these four characters’ personal struggles with others, with nature, with the demands of war, and within themselves.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
Mediations of Disruption in Post-Conflict Cinema
First Page
93
Last Page
105
Recommended Citation
Anselmo, F. (2016). ‘What’s this war in the heart of nature?’ Fire, water, earth and air in Terrence Malick’s the thin red line. Mediations of Disruption in Post-Conflict Cinema, 93-105. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57520-3_6
