A slow paced visual masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (4 February 2006)

One of the most enduring American legends has made it's way to the silver screen under the title "The New World." In this new adaptation of the Pocahontas story, visionary writer/director, Terrence Malick weaves together a realistic tale of love, loss and betrayal against the epic backdrop of the first European settlement in America and striking images of natural beauty.
It is a seemingly average April day, in seventeenth century Virginia, as the natives carry out their morning rituals, when they sight three mystifying vessels on the waterfront. Among the curious onlookers is the pure and exquisite Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher). Little does she realize the significance of this moment - that the 103 European men inside the ships will change her life and alter her world for all time.
While the Native Americans ponder the foreign vessels and their contents, the Europeans disembark. With few volunteers, Smith is selected to lead a small group of settlers upriver to speak with the local chieftain, Powhatan (August Schellenberg). After a short, but perilous journey, Smith is captured by the natives and taken directly to Powhatan who sentences the outsider to death. However, fat steps in when Pocahontas throws herself on Smith pleading for her father (Powhatan) to show mercy.
Pocahontas' act of compassion promptly sparks a relationship that would never be forgotten. Their love transcends language and ethnicity it just is. The two breathe each others' breaths, learn to communicate with one another and develop a bond stronger than either has ever known before. However, their romance is short-lived because Powhatan, who is made uneasy by his daughters closeness to this stranger sends Smith back to the European settlement from which he came. Upon his return, he finds the colonists in poor health and is forced to help them survive the harsh winter. As spring approaches, the relationship between the settlers and natives grows tense and Pocahontas' lingering devotion to Smith provokes her father to disown her. The times ahead are filled with hardships for everyone as the Natives and Europeans fight for the land. Obviously, we know who wins.
As more colonists and supplies arrive, the colony can finally prosper and Pocahontas has come to live with the Europeans. She and a changed Smith try to pick up where they left off, but Smith knows that the relationship can't last. He will soon be embarking on another voyage in pursuit of a passage to the Pacific. As he departs, he instructs John Rolfe (Christian Bale), a fellow settler, to wait a certain period of time and then tell Pocahontas that he had died. Needless to say, he does not plan on returning.
In the time leading up to and following Smith's departure, Pocahontas is transformed into an entirely different person; a proper lady, complete with corset, massive gown and heeled shoes. She even loses her name when she is baptized as Rebecca. However, it is not until she is told that Smith had died, that she looses the dynamic spirit which had always made her so unique in the community. For weeks, she does not speak. She has lost everything imaginable and goes day to day without ambition, in a state of utter sorrow until John Rolfe, who has always had feelings for Pocahontas, decides to act on them and before you know it, they are married with a child together. He loves her unconditionally, but it is evident that little has changed in her heart when she gets word that Smith is not dead. With this new news, she jumps at the invitation she receives from the royal family to appear at a celebration in her honor. The remainder of the film follows her own journey of discovery in a world that is new to her.
Contrary to what the trailers would have you believe, Colin Farrell is not the star of this film, which primarily focuses on Pocahontas as the world she had always known comes to an end and a knew one begins. This film has a phenomenal cast. Colin Farrell and Christian Bale are perfect in their respective rolls, but it is Q'orianka Kilcher (in her feature starring debut) that easily gives my favorite performance by an actress in 2005. She effortlessly captures the exuberance, curiosity and childlike innocence associated with the historical character she portrays. Terrence Malick has returned to what he does best. With a script he wrote in the 70's and an artistic eye, he has crafted a film of an artistic caliber rarely seen on the big screen. Some doubt his methods, but it is hard to dismiss the final product.
"The New World" features some of the best cinematography (now nominated for an Academy Award) and art direction I've seen in any film this past year. The camera work is subtle and always appropriate. The sets are convincing, and the native occupants of the New World transport the viewer to a time before modern civilization spread through America. The only major flaw in this film is it's, at times, tediously slow pacing. This is by no means an edge-of-your-seat adventure epic and it shouldn't be. However, I think Malick greatly overestimated the importance of shots of nature. While, I cannot deny that nature is a pivotal aspect of this story, I cannot say that the abundance of these shots are an asset to the viewer who can often find them jarring (albeit tasteful) to the main storyline.
This is definitely a movie that people will love or hate, but I see no problem with it other than it's slow pacing which is easily compensated by it's remarkable story and superb visuals. "The New World" is a genuine work of art - the kind we don't see often enough. 9/10