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MovieMail's Review
Terence Malick's fourth film in 32 years is a bold and unusual work that is arguably a masterpiece. It concerns itself with when 17th century British explorers first met the Algonquin Indians, or 'naturals', in what became America. It is also a telling of the true story of Pocahontas - a young Indian princess who fell in love with an explorer and became assimilated into the Old World, culminating in her journey to England to meet the King and Queen.
The New World is unlike most films - instead of offering the more usual passive cinematic experience, Malick's consummate filmmaking craft immerses the viewer in a participatory world. Eschewing a traditional, strictly linear narrative, he presents almost standalone scenes that, taken with the viewer's reactions and thoughts, build into a personal experience. An example: we watch a group of sailors rowing a boat downriver into the depths of a huge, primitive forest. Accompanying the image is a moving symphonic piece. Thoughts occur unbidden I ponder states of mind, how varied our humanity and sense of being can be. Malick has created something quite special, a new cinematic language that advances what cinema can offer.
As one might expect, the cinematography - largely shot on 65mm with a painter's eye - and the soundtrack, including Wagner's magical Vorspiel, are beautiful and almost unsurpassed in contemporary film.
The New World offers an exploration of our humanity through changes in our environment, culture and through love. What's special is the room he gives us to embark on our own journey - expanding what cinema can be for those willing to take part.
Epic adventure set amidst the first encounter of European and Native American cultures during the founding of the Jamestown Virginia Settlement in 1607. The film follows Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher) and her relationships with adventurer John Smith (Colin Farrell) and aristocrat John Rolfe (Christian Bale). Her remarkable journey of love lost and found takes her from the untouched beauty of the Virginia wilderness to the upper crust of English society as we witness the dawn of a new America. Malick is famously one of the least prolific of directors - he has made four films in 32 years - and this finds him at his most meditative as his film ruminates over the clash of cultures.
