Why "The New World" is
By hazelem Nov 17, 2006
Pros: Innovatively and beautifully filmed, first-rate cast
Cons: Most people will find it terribly boring
There are several film versions of the John Smith/Pocahontas story and director Terrence Malick's version isn't anything like the previous releases. In fact, Terry Malick didn't even film this movie in the usual conventional way - no film...ing in studios, no CGI, and used only the natural outdoor light when filming. This movie is described by some as a moving impressionist painting. This story is told through the eyes of the Native Americans. You get a sense of how alien and terribly rough the English strangers seemed to them. In this movie, you see Pocahontas' and her people communicate to each other more through games, gestures and rituals, rather than through actual words. When they do speak to each other in Algonquin, subtitles are provided for those few conversions. The John Smith and Pocahontas characters tell their story through voice overs, as though they are reading/writing from their personal journals. But you get more impressions and thoughts rather than a chronological telling of events. It's as though their story is told in the form of free-style poetry, while the film provides background pictures for it. Also, John Smith, Pocahontas, and the rest of the characters establish their onscreen relationships through emotional interaction rather than dialogue. Different, isn't it? But it is done in a way that doesn't come across as over-acting. The tone and pace of the movie is reflective, thoughtful, and unfolds slowly. So slowly, in fact, that people who are looking for the Disney version of this story WILL fall asleep. The amazing Q'Orianka Kilcher is the magical element in this movie. She has this intangible quality that jumps out from the screen at you, draws you in, and then you can't take your eyes off her. As Pocahontas, she is the bond that holds the story together and connects the dots to John Smith, John Rolfe, Chief Powhatan, the people of Jamestown, and England. Otherwise, these people are so vastly different that it's mind-boggling to see how they could all be part of the same story. One informative tidbit to note is that Q'Orianka was all of 14 years old when this movie was filmed and age 15 when it was released. She looks and carries herself as a much older woman. It is truly incredible that she had the talent, emotional maturity and emotional flexibility to play a very young, curious and idealistic Pocahontas, to the older married woman and mother of son Thomas Rolfe, who died at age 23. Sadly, Q. Kilcher is so off-the-scale talented that Hollywood has no idea what to do with her. As of late 2006, she is currently producing and filming her own movie. Colin Farrell plays an appropriately subdued John Smith with a visible undercurrent of "wild bad boy" not entirely hidden in his character. I am NOT a fan of Colin Farrell but he was a very likeable John Smith. He has some wonderful quotes regarding Pocahontas and her people, indicating that they have no sense of possession or jealousy and the words that connotate deceitfulness or forgiveness are simply not part of their language. Christian Bale plays a small part as John Rolfe, but leaves a very favorable impression. It is refreshing to see him play a normal person and not the dark, brooding, and highly troubled characters he usually plays. He is one of those wonderful actors who can convey so much with his eyes and face; he lets you see his character's thoughts and emotions without using words. Colin Farrell's and Christian Bale's caliber of acting is well known and makes it even more remarkable that young Q'Orianka (in her feature film debut) more than holds her own with these two actors onscreen. This film is so highly artistic, the cast is outstanding, and so are their performances. If you can appreciate it and throw your expectations of commercial movie making out the window, this film is a rich visual and emotional feast. Read more Less
