THE NEW WORLD {General Release Version} (Terrence Malick, 2005) ***

Rating: 7/10 (2 June 2006)

Few directors can film nature the way Terrence Malick can which, coupled with James Horner's mysterious yet evocative score, make this epic feel closer to Werner Herzog's AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (1973) than THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992) - to make it has been compared. Besides, the weird ritual scenes when Colin Farrell is first captured by the natives, seem to have strayed in from APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)!! However, impressive visuals - including the appropriately savage battle scenes - aren't enough to offset the general pretentiousness - which also affected Malick's previous effort, THE THIN RED LINE (1998) - that results from the relentless voice-over (which becomes alienating after a while, and is usually muffled to boot!) and especially its disorientating fragmentary style (which does no favors to individual characterization or the sweeping narrative, and is filled with inexplicable jump-cuts!).
Q'Orianka Kilcher comes off best from the large cast, since she appears throughout the entire film - whereas Farrell more or less vanishes during the last third to make way for Christian Bale. Christopher Plummer is commanding in his brief but pivotal role, but David Thewlis is wasted as a sneering villain - while John Savage's role as a demented priest and that of Jonathan Pryce as King James I barely register!
THE NEW WORLD originally premiered in a 150-minute cut (the General Release Version loses some 15 minutes), which only played for one week in selected theatres in the U.S. Ironically, this happened when I was in Hollywood at the end of last year and, had I known it would have been re-edited, I'd have made my utmost to catch this alternate edit of the film before it disappeared, perhaps forever!