Country:
USA
Recognizable Faces:
Colin Farrell
Christian Bale
Christopher Plummer
Q'Orianka Kilcher
Directed By:
Terrence Malick
In an attempt to shake the Terrence Malick cobwebs before viewing Tree Of Life, Josie and me gave The New World another go last week-end. He’s not the most difficult director, but I wouldn’t advise approaching one of his movies without a warm-up, especially if the critics called it “difficult” and “an acquired taste”. Despite bearing Malick’s official stamp and trademark pacing, The New World is a relatively straightforward experience. Straightforward, enchanting and hypnotizing would be the three words I’d use to describe this film.
If you’ve watched Disney’s Pocahontas, you know what this is about. Englishman John Smith is on a boat to the new world and lands right into a native tribe’s territory. He is mandated by his superior (Plummer) to establish diplomatic contacts with the tribe’s king and it goes very badly. He’s about to die when he is saved by the merciful hand of his youngest daughter (Q’Orianka Kilcher), who he happens to find very hot. The natives take him under their tutelage and the king, not used to the European way of doing things, lets Smith spend an awful lot of time with his daughter. The rest is in history books.
There is a huge historical concern to The New World. As Pocahontas tried to remain in Hollywood’s charted territory, Terrence Malick approaches this immortal romance from an almost objective point of view. Despite having killer male leads like Colin Farrell and Christian Bale, Malick makes Q’Orianka Kilcher the cornerstone of his movie. Bale is impeccable as usual and Farrell is brilliantly casted. I’m not in love with his acting, but he was selected by Terrence Malick for a very precise aesthetic purpose. He plays John Smith to a near perfection. Malick’s dialog is short, spare and beautiful. It’s very poetic, so it might sound pretentious to some, but Malick’s characters speak of nothing but the greatest truth of their heart. It’s rare that movie dialog is emotionally engaging, but it’s the case here.
If you’re not used to Terrence Malick’s directing style, The New World is good training. It’s very slow, the editing consists of lengthy shots, but it’s straightforward nature and Malick’s relentless attitude towards narrating a good story keeps your mind working. There are a lot of contemplative shots, but he tries to keep them within the storyline’s concern, so their beauty doesn’t seem useless. There are many shot of water flowing, which is another Malick trademark (supposed to symbolize the ruthless nature of time). That might bug some viewers, but I’m used to it and I loved it. In that regard, The New World was very similar to Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo. It’s a movie that’s not in a rush. It takes the necessary time to tell.
You figured it out by now, I’m a huge Terrence Malick fan. The man is a detail-obsessed freak. His movies have their peculiar poetry, where every shot gracefully flows into another, creating meaning in between images. He does such few movies because he researches every aspect and is looking for nothing less than perfection at every attempt. Terrence Malick doesn’t really give a damn about form and conventions and yet he tells a story on screen better than ninety-nine percent of today’s directors. The New World will require patience and focus, but it’s about one of the greatest romances in movies. It’s a universal story, yet it takes a look into your soul.
SCORE: 93%
SCORE: 93%
