It's OK But don't get over excited

Rating: 5/10 (4 August 2006)

Love it and hate it, there's truth in all the comments I've read about this film. For a start it sets it's self a tough task. Two people have to become deeply in touch with each other within a very short time of meeting despite not speaking a word of each others language. Love and respect takes time to build for intelligent people who can communicate verbally, so one assumes it's likely to take longer if you have to learn to speak first. Of course one of these is a teenager so I guess that reduces the intelligence involved maybe reducing the healthy caution shown by women of more experience but in real terms it all happens too fast. Perhaps Malik thought to himself "they'll never swallow them falling in love over a winter without speaking, unless I stress every little nuance of body language, every instance of alternative communication, each small gesture, and turn what is a short period into what seems like an interminable one. He certainly succeeded on that objective. The middle of this film is just too long. Good writers know how to do the passing of time but this is this films failing.
The Pocahontas story was crying out to be told well after the usual Disney Disgrace. Teenagers and older the world over know the names but are old enough now to realise what sickening mush Walt's destroyers will turn every story they kick to death into but Malik failed to resist the Smith love affair as well! (It never happened, she was maybe 10, certainly no more than 12.) and making it seem possible destroyed what was in many many ways a beautiful film. Locations were excellent, cinematography epic, behaviour of all the other characters brilliant. The meeting scene between white and red superb, Smiths time with the aboriginals and the clashes later carried out in a way that brought home the differences in every aspect of their respective lives except that both races include the wise and the not so.
Those people who rave over this as a seminal experience probably wouldn't want to admit they can't actually see the pair of undies they bought from that special highly recommended tailor. And those who tell you it's the worst film of all time had actually decided it wasn't going to come up to the standard of Police Academy 4 within the first 4 minutes. It has some good points, it makes some very good points but it isn't Maliks best work there's a beginning and an end but the middle drags and drags.