The New World

Rating: 6/10 (2 June 2006)

The New World is set in 1607 and is about the Europeans who come across a settlement with several Native Americans and the one captain named John Smith falls in love with one of the Native American girls named Pocahontas. The film shows their relationship and also the conflicts and differences between the Europeans and the Native Americans. The film also shows Pocahontas's relationship with an aristocrat named John Rolfe as well. The entire film is shown in her point of view. Winner of The NBR Award for Best Breakthrough Performance By An Actress (Q'Orianka Kilcher, who plays Pocahontas) at The National Board Of Review. The New World is a very well made film. It's direction is good a long with performances, original music, cinematography, art direction, set decoration, costumes and makeup. But unfortunately the film itself is very slow moving and it gets to the point where it almost becomes boring. The film's director Terrence Malick is known for having gorgeous looking movies and this movie does look gorgeous and is very well made by the cast and crew. The film's script and pacing needed work however. Other than being a visual treat for the mind there was little else to enjoy about the film. The characters needed to have more going on and there needed to be a little more action or conflict in the film. I don't mind films with a slower pace that have a good story to it, but there is relatively no real concrete story here. Another problem I had with the film was I had a lot of trouble understanding what the actors were saying a lot of the time and that didn't help with the film either. I will give The New World a mild recommendation for it's look and the way it was so masterfully done, but as a film meant to entertain and provoke interest this film fails on that level. I do hope however that Terrence Malick begins work on another film soon because he is a gifted director with a great eye who just needs a better script the next time around.