I owe Malick $8

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2012)

I thought of Malick as an visual director from the 1970s, who was away from film-making too long and disappointed with his 1998 "Thin Red Line." Typical Malick film: gorgeous, but weak story. Thus, I didn't see "The New World" when it came out in 2005. But I did see "Tree of Life" in theatrical release, and judged it the best film of last year. So when "New World" was available On Demand, I caught it, and felt guilty that I hadn't forked over my 8 bucks 7 years ago. Malick has transcended story. Beauty for its own sake works here as it did with "Tree." There are scenes, impressions, but no coherent script, and it doesn't matter. It's an experience, with music, acting and the cinematography, always the cinematography, combining for a wonderful experience.