So many people miss the point of this movie

Rating: 10/10 (21 January 2006)

I have finally seen the movie my soul has hungered for all my life. A film that is at once beautiful and resonant, with a spiritual depth, conveying the essence of our connection with God, the interaction between the Divine and Man. The film that is wholly satisfying on every level, with no mis-steps.
I can now say "The New World" is the best movie I've ever seen. Exceeding Tarkovsky, Kurosawa….better than any one of them.
This is not a "Love Story". Not in the traditional sense. It is about the Love of God as it flows through us.
It is a film about Innocence. The power of innocence, the necessity of it as the thread that binds you to the experience of God. I mean the Innocence that is wisdom, without guile, full of compassion, imbued with joy that is in the moment, neither in the past or future.
What the film shows so well is that this eternal resonance within us all is not bound to another person, not bound to a place, a time, or the transient things that you see around you. The journey conveyed in the film is the cutting of our artificial ties, breaking the conditionings that say I am defined by this person, by this place, by these times; by my reaction to the external. What is so exquisitely communicated in this film is the growth of this realization within Pochahontas. Joy is eternal, our connection with God is always there, it never goes away. It is our innermost choice is whether to let the external play affect our direct connection with God, which manifests as the bliss of Joy, utter peace, compassion, dignity, and the magnetism of a beautiful soul.
Pochahontas had this connection; she was loved and respected by all. As the film progresses she begins to falter, letting her innermost essence be clouded by "events", by the things that happen on the outside. By the end she has regained what once she expressed so effortlessly, growing deeper, being in Joy and connected. She made that choice, the choice we all must make, the choice we make each moment.
Smith has farther to go in this movie. But in the end he realizes the Truth that he had glimpsed, knew that was the direction he was headed, knew that he always had more to let go of, more of the Past clinging to him bringing him out of the present moment, away from the Love of God.
"The New World" is primarily about these eternal spiritual truths. All of the themes in the movie revolve and spiral around them. There are so many wonderful layers to sink into when watching it, it really cheapens them to get into details.
It is really too bad that so many people miss the depth of this film, looking so closely at the details (love story, plot, historical accuracy, etc.), especially as this movie is so clearly about things below the surface. (This point is so beautifully communicated in about 5 seconds towards the beginning, as we "look up" from the depths of the water at these "naturals".)
I would recommend this to anyone who longs to see what film can aspire to as an art form. Go into the film with those expectations and you'll be wholly satisfied.