Review of The New World (2005) by Hughg. — 27 Jan 2006
A wasted opportunity. "Four legs good, two legs bad" kind of mentality/morality. So California 60's. A dishonest tone poem. Even Anthropology 101 will tell you the "noble savage" was a myth.
And we've all see the Indian with a tear in the corner of his eye as he stands beside the polluted lake. Magnify this a hundred times and film your thesis as though it's a perfume commercial.
Last year at Marienbad meets Ralph Lauren. Colin Farrell plays John Smith like a lip-quivering ninny. Q'Orianka Kilcher is "sensual, but not too far from innocence." As biopic the film is a lie.
As a story of culture clash, the story is insipid. As love story the film lacks credibility and eroticism. Everyone else works while these two wander the scenery, bashful and goofy as 8th graders unsure of their crush.
Too bad, because I, like so many, have waited for terrence Malick to make another credible movie like Badlands ever since. This film is a tone poem like Sibelius' Finlandia, as composed by Yanni.
This review of The New World (2005) was written by Hughg. on 27 Jan 2006.
The New World has generally received positive reviews.
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