Review of The New World (2005) by Nataniel E — 11 Jun 2013

Okay, let's set aside the fact that John Smith and Pocahontas never actually had a love affair. Its been recorded so much into the consciousness of the public by legends & fabrications (some by John Smith himself who rewrote his diaries to reflect this reality) that it would be difficult to make a film any other way.

So how does this film work as pure cinema? Like all of Terence Malick's bloated epics, not very well. For a guy who seems to only direct oncer per decade you'd think he was some brilliant auteur carefully plotting his masterpieces.

What we get from Terence Malick is the usual stale formula of Hollywood film-making. I have yet to see any Malick film that is isn't pedantic, boring, empty, hollow, pretentious and meaningless drivel.

Like a UCLA film school effort with a bigger budget. The New World isn't any different. The first half of the films records the trials and tribulations of the Jamestown colony, but covers the material in fairly broad strokes and adds nothing new or interesting to the discussion.

The later half is essentially a conventional romance subplot. At least this film does admit to the existence of James Rolfe (which the Disney film ignores completely), her husband in historical reality.

But Malick abandons his narrative of colonialism for a bland soap opera about a woman torn between two lovers. I imagine in his mind Malick equates long, boring tracking shots as "art", but really it just adds excess time to the film.

Because as we all know, if its over 2 hours that must mean its epic film-making.