Relationships between soldiers in The Thin Red Line (1998, Malick) - Essay Example

This war movie consists of both cruelties and kindness. The first level of kindness that this takes place is with regards to the brotherly relations that are evident between the men of the company and platoon. On a second level, the relationships within the movie are related to the viewer with regards to the means by which father-son elements unfold also represent bright side of humanity. On the other side of spectrum we face tensions between people that result into conflicts in the movie. When seeking to understand these relationships within the context of the film, the following analysis will attempt to draw a level of focus upon the brother-brother, father-son, and exemplification of tensions between the men as they are exhibited by the actions that take place.

As such, this particular analysis will seek to understand whether or not a familial level of relationships exist within the film, the type and definition of these familial relationships and some of the causal factors that help to encourage and develop these features. Firstly, with regards to the brother-brother relationships that are exhibited within the film, the viewer can see direct evidence of this to the type of behavior that is exhibited during their leave. Even though it may be assumed that the brotherly relations would most be exemplified during the combat scenes of the film, this is not necessarily the case.

Rather, the dynamics of brotherly relations between the battle-weary men is most exhibited with regards to how the men spend their free time once they are on leave or before and after the combat. After weeks of stress and integrating with the deaths of their comrades within gruesome battles, the men settle into an uneasy, still stressful, rest that is only punctuated and made uniform by the level to which these men appreciate their own camaraderie and seek to make a communal sense of their current lives.

The Narrator says the following about Witt’s realization of friendship: “he feels the mysterious quality of deep, manly friendship which can exist between men who share the pain and death, the fear and sadness of combat—the happiness, too” (02:40). This of course helps to underscore the understanding of how the men involved within the film are defined by the conflict they are in. If such hardships did not exist within Guadalcanal, it is unlikely that the brotherly relationship exhibited during leave would have ever developed at all.

Hardships bring people together, since they are fighting together for one cause against one evil enemy. Likewise, the father-son relationship that exists within the film is most adequately exposed by how Captain Staros interacts with the company commander. Captain Staros, a father figure for the men under his command, takes his role as guardian and protector of his men’s lives very seriously. Therefore, he takes full responsibility for all of the members of his platoon. Although his responsibility as an officer also includes implementing the orders of the officers above him, this primary motive to provide for the safety and wellbeing of the men under his command serves as something of a guiding precept by which Staros defines his role as captain.

Staros right before the leave home has a warm and memorable talk with some members of his platoon. He says, “