Stunning, an achievement only Malick is now capable of.

Rating: 10/10 (1 January 2006)

I thought THE THIN RED LINE was a great film; to rate THE NEW WORLD is to wonder whether it's actually better than THE THIN RED LINE or just as good as it. Either way, this film is an utter achievement on the highest level. When other film-makers are giving us two-dimensional cartoon characters parading as deep psychological insights, Malick gives us pure poetry and majesty - a trip into the past and way beyond. Apart from being a unique experience, this film is beautifully shot, beautifully written, extremely intelligent, sensitively scored, powerful with performances beyond anything we have seen this year in cinema. It is, quite simply, mesmerising.
Malick has admirably steered clear of a torrent of pointless, immature dialogue in favour of a harshly realistic and yet poetically transcendent film created virtually entirely from image, sound, music, gesture. What is said is only what needs to be said. Again, a refreshing change from the dribbling verbal diarrhoea exhibited in so many other films.
Q'Orianka Kilcher in the lead role is an absolute revelation. What a magical, deeply-felt performance from a talented young lady who surely promises to be one of the great actresses of her generation. An emotional, utterly beguiling characterisation in a film so admirably conceived and so intelligently executed.