The New World  where the legend of Pocahontas lives on...

Rating: 8/10 (19 September 2006)

At around 135 minutes, this is a long film and there are those who would say that's about sixty minutes too long. Don't take any notice of them because if you're a Terence Malick fan, then you're in for another visual treat of sublime excellence.
Of course, if you're not a fan of that philosopher-director, then you'd better give this one a miss  even with Colin Farrell in the lead as Capt. John Smith.  because this film is not one for action fans, nor for those who like lots of dialog.
This is for the visually attuned and informed viewer only, and for those who just like to listen to a great musical score for film.
If you know anything about the story of Pocohontas, then you know it's a putative love story between Capt. Smith and her, during the time that settlers arrived at the site of modern Jamestown in 1607. Malick follows the generally accepted story  Pocohontas saves Smith from death when he is captured, falls in love with him but, after Smith leaves and is reported as being dead, she marries John Rolfe, travels to England with him and eventually dies there from some unspecified disease. The whole story is in a number of history books, you can access it at one online database I know of, but you really don't need to know anymore.
Instead, just sit and watch how Malick uses the camera, sound, and editing to produce a lyrical tribute to the power of love  "there is only this  all else is unreal", according to the character of Smith. Don't try to listen to the dialog too intently, especially Farrell's affected thick Irish brogue that is incomprehensible at times. Be prepared for one very dramatic battle scene between the settlers and the local tribes, reminiscent of Malick's treatment of men in hand-to-hand combat in The Thin Red Line (1998): hand-held cameras, quick sharp cutting and editing, close-ups of men dying horribly and such like  although it never reaches the goriness of that great war film. I'm sure, for Malick that this particular battle is incidental to the greater power of the love story that he wanted to present.
Just watch how Malick again treats the viewer with the splendor of Nature: crystal clear underwater shots, slow shots of light through trees, languid shots of wind riffling the long grasses and bushes of the Virginia coastline, stunning sunrises and sunsets, and male and female voice-overs that draw the viewer into the innermost thoughts of the protagonists. Those are all almost trademarks of Malick that he has used before, most notably in the above war film, and they are still very effective in holding this viewer, without pause.
I hope it holds you equally well.