Saw it last night at the Atlanta preview and have to say I was very impressed.

It isn't an intrinsically entertaining film per se, but it is very engrossing. Malick uses filmmkaing very much as an art form and the entire film is shot very romantically. From the camera angles to the soundtrack the entire film feels almost poetic. That is not to say it is perfect as it certainly isn't, but it is one of 2005's better made films. I'd grade it an A.

I agree with both your readings (art form and romance) but that is probably why I gave this film a B+. Love the art form, and Malick is really on a different level in that regard, but dislike the "romance" aspects as it is a very problematic, though common, reading of the encounter. I would have loved if the communication barrier had been more present and left some of Pocahontas's emotions ambiguous. I loved the European projection on both the land and its allegorical/real woman. One of the most demanding films of the year.

The New World is a triumph of visual storytelling. A film absolutely dripping with beautiful compositions and stunning landscapes. Being a total nature nut myself, I couldn't help but be completely enamoured with Malick's joy and zest for presenting these artful tapestries and so effectively weaving them into the subject matter.

Told largely in the internal monologue style reminiscent of The Thin Red Line, The New World slowly reveals the thoughts and motivations of its central characters; Pocahontas (Kilcher) and John Smith (Farrell). After being given the task of going up-river to procure much needed trade goods, Smith gets wrapped up in the culture of the natives and the young daughter of their leader. Q'Orianka Kilcher, in a mesmerizing role, plays Pocahontas as a free spirit that goes about her daily life with a verve unmatched and an intoxicating manner which manages to ensnare both Smith and the audience. It is easy to see why Smith is so quickly smitten and the scenes between the two discovering their feelings for one another have such a purity and tenderness to them.

Once Smith leaves for new frontiers, the film becomes 100% centred on Pocahontas. We see her awkward assimilation into a foreign culture, a new relationship form between her and John Rolfe (a very effective Bale in a small role) and the voyage to her "new world", England. I found it quite sad to see her as a fish out of water, thinking back on how content she seemed with her tribe and their way of life. She does find happiness though and the final moments with her child and husband returning home to Virginia were quite uplifting.

I know nothing of the history of this time period, so whether that which is presented is factually accurate or not is beyond me, and I really don't give a damn quite frankly. All I know is is that what was presented was a poetic, immaculate, lyrical, awe-inspiring, meditative, soulful and inspiring piece of filmmaking.

I must say that the almost assured failure of this movie to make a big splash at the Oscars is truly mind-boggling. It deserves nominations in at least 8 categories; Picture, Director, Actress, Cinematography, Make-up, Costumes, Art Direction and Score.

Stunning film.

A+

This is surely to be the central debate amongst viewers of this verdant perspective of the world.

There's no doubt that the director, Terrence Mallick, is some kind of maniac artistic genius - but whether the faithful are willing to follow him on his twisted journey of truth - aye, there's the rub.

Even, for someone like me, who has a very high tolerance for artistic vision, this movie began testing my resolve by the two-thirds point. I kept wondering when Christian Bale was going to enter the storyline... Imagining the intimacy/communications issues between Pocohontas and John Smith... why they kept letting him loose in the wilds...

But to ask these kind of questions, is to miss the point of Mallick's ode to being human at the primary intersection of very foreign cultures. And, man, dig those natural cut-scenes such as the planet coming out of eclipse of the slivered moon!

The exquisite set design of pre-invasion North America was stunningly authentic, the accurate detail given over to daily life as is so rarely portrayed in mainstream film was unprecedented.

So, in inconclusive conclusion, I have to agree - No! It's just the director...

5 out of 5.

I'll have to disagree.

I guess I shouldn't judge, since I didn't see the whole film, but yeah... the most boring film in history.

It's beautiful to look at for the first 10 minutes or so, but after about an hour, I couldn't even sit in the chair.

Yeah, I read your review and actually agree with you a lot. While at first I gave it an A, as I was writing my review I just couldn't justify it as such. Ended up with a B+.

Good film, but, at least to me, it just felt like there was something missing somewhere. Like all of the pieces just didn't quite fit together.

a bit slow at times but overall it was pretty darn good

B+

You liked it Adam?

yes...yes i did

Details? Thoughts? We rarely see the same movies, so I like to hear from you when we do...especially since we agree on this one.

well, the cinematography and production values were excellent. the film looks absolutely beautiful. i love films from this era, such as The Black Robe, so this was my cup of tea. I wasn't too keen on the inner-monolouge that was used throughout, but it didn't hurt my evaluation of the movie too much. the only thing that really hurt my opinion of the movie was the sometimes very slow pacing. but overall i thought the love story, and the story overall, were very good. colin farrel was surprisingly good as smith. i'm not his biggest fan but he did a great job in this movie.

holy crap, i think that's the longest review i've ever written outside of a horror movie lol.

Interesting, I gravely disliked Black Robe, and felt that the inner monologues where probably what saved the movie from just becoming generic. It kind of shifted the focus of the movie away from "fact" and towards "thoughts" and "projections." But I do see what you're saying about the visuals and pace being independant of that, since it felt to me as though they ran simultaneously but where seperate. I thought it was beautiful, and also the best score of the year. Did you think Kilcher was incredible? She said maybe ten words the entire movie and was still captivating. I liked the scenes in England just as much, with the court and the caged birds and garden, as i did the Virginian landscape. I thought the entire movie was very beautiful from first to last minute.

For everyone that saw this film, when y'all left the film, what was the audiance's reactions? Where they as bored as Zingy and my audiance was? Because I wasn't really bored at all.

yeah, kilcher did a great job. it's hard to believe that this is her first major film role. and i also liked the scenes in england as well. the garden scenes were amazing.

Kilcher was amazing. Just flat out amazing for a debut performance.

I was worried actually that the film was going to lose steam once it got into England but actually I thought that it worked just fine. Especially of course the "climatic" moment if you will.

Jeff, you will find these paintings (the source of Malick's English visit) interesting.

I wasn't all that impressed with Farrell, actually, but he didn't ruin it either.

I agree Dolce, Ferrell didn't really do it for me. He was decent but I just couldn't develop any connection to his character. I really didn't care about him. Then again I knew that as long as the film was historically accurate he had no chance anyway so...

Those paintings though...interesting.

I enjoyed the film a lot. I think my favorite character of the entire movie had to be John Rolfe aka Christian Bale. The scenes he was in just felt perfect. I also liked many of the native american scenes. A very touching movie. To get to your question Dolce - I heard a few grumblings as I walked out, but I wasn't too surprised because I saw it at 10:25 so people were probably already for bed going in. Also, my manager screened the movie and hated it. He is not a fan of these kind of movies and I think watching it at 4 in the morning had to play a part in his dislike for the film.

Aside from the couple I quoted in my review above, in the audience I saw it with, there was a great deal of laughter after it finished. Based on the overheard comments, I interpreted the laughter as meaning: "I can't believe I paid to see such a boring movie!" - this one's definitely not going to go over with a general audience...

I can't wait to see it. The subject matter is interesting but I'm not a Malick fan overall.

I did however quite enjoy Badlands. But I have a soft spot for murderers. And the Love Is Strange dance scene was brill. I need more cowbell.

Well, I was fairly neutral on Thin Red Line, but the WOM for New World has me interested. I ran into a few of my friends as I was going into Brokeback and they seemed to love it- especially Kilcher. I'll more than likely see it monday after school if there is an early showing.

Question on this???

- Should Kilcher have been nominated for Actress over Supporting??? ( I guess they went supporting for a better chance for a win??

- But also isn't it better to say nominated for Actress rather than Supporting ( on her and the films resumes ) > especially with how hard it is to actually get the win > which I don't think she would win for either anyway.

To me, this is a classic Brokeback mountain performance.

This is actually the first Malick film I've seen, so I can't comment on comparisons between the two.

Hmm...there was some laughter in my screening, but a lot of that was due to the "tree" ending which I admit was a bit odd. Overall it seemed positive but this was also a free screening.

I could see it going either way. None of the actors/actresses really "led" the film, so I could see her being pushed for either supporting or leading.