This is no Hollywood Blockbuster.....it's Art.

Rating: 10/10 (2 January 2006)

This film is a painting come to life. Malick is a really special film maker and this is a real jewel. His long shots give the actors time to actually convey emotion and there are some incredibly powerful moments in this film. Being of Native ancestry and a student of Native history the attention to detail as far as costuming and sets.......amazing. The actually story line? Somewhat skewed from the real story.....but the real story would take a 4 day film to truly convey and it's hard enough to keep people's attention for more than 90 minutes in a theater. The important points are all there. The standout here is Kilcher, a real stunning debut....so graceful and emotionally complex. Body language is abundant and rightly so, the meetings of the English and the "Naturals" was as odd as an alien invasion. Most communication is through the eyes......and is brilliantly displayed here. I must say that this a great cinematic experience. The only thing that bummed me out about the film, wasn't the film at all, it was a few in the audience that exclaimed at the closing credits...."thank god!! that was so long!!!"......"so boring!" , which is typical of your average meat head, movie goer just looking for explosions and fart jokes. Which leads me to believe that's why in the film they keep Pocahontas(Kilcher) chest covered. In reality, during warmer months, Native men and women were almost completely naked and painted in some way or another. I'm sure Malick wanted to go for authenticity, but it's the repressed society that we live in would have had a field day with a 15 year old girl going topless AND running around with Colin Farrell. Running time is around 3 hours with not a frame wasted. Anyway, All the performances were outstanding, with special kudos going to Raoul Trujillo who plays Tomoco AND choreographed all the Native dancing as well as Christian Bale giving John Rolfe a face. Bravo. A must see in the theater.......and see it in a good theater with a good sound system. Well worth the price of admission.