The New World

Terrence Malick's 2005 film The New World made it to a few top-ten-of-the-decade lists, even being chosen by Mick LaSalle as the best of the decade. The film had its detractors, too, and at the time of its release I made a conscious decision not to see it, even though it was playing at the theater where I worked. I found his previous film, The Thin Red Line, to be a crashing bore, so I was wary. It turns out I like The New World very much.

To be sure, the film is slow, and as with The Thin Red Line, Malick seems to be more interested in contemplating nature than a story. But whereas it didn't work on Guadalcanal, it did in Jamestown, Virginia, 1607. An English ship arrives to begin work on a colony, and the resident Indians (called "naturals" by the leader of the English, Christopher Plummer, a much nicer term than "savages") are inquisitive but standoffish. One of the crew, Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) is set to be hung for mutiny, but Plummer realizes he's needed and spares him. Instead he sets off on an expedition upriver to barter with the chief of the local tribe. He's captured, but spared when a young girl (Q'Orianka Kilcher) pleads for him.

She is, of course, Pocahontas, though her name is never spoken (Pocahontas was a nickname, anyway). Malick, in telling this tale, chooses to side with myth and weaves a tale of romance between Smith and the girl, though there is no evidence that there was one (the story of Smith's salvation at her hands is questionable, as well). But this is clearly not a historical document, though the rest of it is very in keeping with the archaeological record. It was filmed very close to the events of the story, and the buildings, costumes, etc. reflect as accurate a portrait as could be made.

I got caught up in the rhythm of the piece. I was amused to see, in some reviews, the over-used phrase "tone poem" to describe the film, but if there ever was a film to earn that sobriquet this is it. Malick uses some tricky editing, such as jump cuts, which move the story along in unsettling ways, and then slows things down for shots of nature, mainly trees swaying in the wind. This is a lot more interesting that it sounds, and when combined with the ethereal music of James Horner and the exquisite photography of Emmanuel Lubezki, makes for a thrilling, hypnotic effect.

At the end of the film, as at the end of Pocahontas' life, she makes a trip to England. The scenes of her experiencing her own "new world" are heady and perfectly captured. What must it have been like for a simple Indian girl to be transported across the ocean and presented to the King of England? Watching this film you do get some idea.

While not a film to be viewed while sleepy, The New World is an intoxicating brew of sounds and images.