It's about time someone got it right

Rating: 10/10 (21 January 2006)

This was an amazing movie. I'm so pleasantly surprised. I really had no expectation...or rather, very low expectations on account of Colin Farrell's "Alexander". I figured this would be just another historical drama that disappoints, or a wildly unrealistic romance. My main curiosity was to see how well they portrayed the Algonquin natives. They seemed very authentic in the previews. To my astonishment, this was the least of the breath-taking aspects of the movie. I agree with another reviewer that many people are not going to be able to appreciate this film. It's a shame. I'm sure many are flocking to see it with the same expectation of seeing the standard historical action/drama/romance and they'll miss the subtlety and poetic beauty of the narrative and photography. Malick used similar technique in "Thin Red Line" but it didn't seem to enhance that story. Perhaps because that was a "war" movie, I didn't think his style worked. In this case, the ethereal, otherworldliness, and metaphysical perspective fit in perfectly with the mutual discovery taking place. Despite my knowledge of this particular time in history, I felt I was given a fresh look at this event and the people who lived it. Definitely for a more mature audience, not action movie fans.