The New World

THE NEW WORLD (12)

D: Terrence Malick

New Line / First Foot / Sunflower (Sarah Green)

UK/US 🇬🇧🇺🇸 2005

136 mins (extended cut: 150 mins)

Drama/Historical

W: Terrence Malick

DP: Emmanuel Lubezki

Ed: Richard Chew, Hank Corwin Saar Klein & Mark Yoshikawa

Mus: James Horner

Colin Farrell (Capt. John Smith), Q’orianka Kilcher (Pocahontas), Christopher Plummer (Capt. Christopher Newport), Christian Bale (John Rolfe), August Schellenberg (Chief Powhatan), Wes Studi (Opechancanough)

It’s quite well known that Terrence Malick’s movies take the “visual poetry” approach, where the narrative takes a back seat for the stunning cinematography to do the work, and while his 2005 film, “The New World”, is stunningly shot by masterful cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, it is also one of his more accessible films for mainstream audiences.

This historical drama introduces Q’orianka Kilcher as Pocahontas, who bears witness to the arrival of English ships, who come to American shores to colonise and found what would become Jamestown.

Aboard one ship is Captain John Smith, who was sentenced to death for mutiny, but pardoned by the leader of the expedition once they make landfall. Smith is later captured by the natives and learns to appreciate their customs, earning the tribes respect and capturing the heart of Pocahontas.

However, Smith is summoned to another voyage and Pocahontas meets another settler, John Rolfe, who makes plans to take her to England, so she too can discover a new world.

The film may present a simplistic version of events in a languid style, but it is an astonishingly beautiful piece of work as a result of its amazing camerawork and Kilcher also deserves plaudits for her debut performance.

Though it was a box office disappointment, it was always respected as a piece of work and did eventually find the audience it deserved in the year’s since.  The only negative here is the length, especially in the extended cut, which doesn’t reveal anything truly missing from the shorter version.

7/10