A Brave and Powerful Film

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2006)

Something happened in the 80's. There was a defining moment that systematically changed how people look at the world. I didn't know it then but when my teachers told me of the first Thanksgiving and the story of Indians and Pilgrims living together in a peace in harmony little did I discover that it was all a lie. By the time I got out of Elementary school I heard the heartbreaking story of how the white man killed every last Native American with extreme malice. So what was the truth, who was at fault? It was only after years of figuring out just how history works that I came to the conclusion that (for the most part) History is rarely black and white and the monsters and heroes that have become part of the story are rarely as monstrous or heroic as they seem.
That's what makes Terence Malick's THE NEW WORLD so bold. It doesn't try to tell a story about America, but he tells a story of two people trapped between themselves and the world that continues to change around them. You will find little here about how horrible Europeans are or how savage the Native Americans are, instead you get a lyrical poem about the simple curiosity that must have come over the Native Americans and European Settlers at the birth of America.
THE NEW WORLD begins just as America does at the dawn of the Jamestown Colony. Its 1607 and two ship has dropped off the men who will successfully settle the land. Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) is sent to the local Native Tribe to make friends and alliances for their very survival. He meets and falls for Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher) who asks her father the king to spare Smith's life. On Pocahontas' instance the King helps the men of the Jamestown settlement survive their first winter, but disowns his daughter after he realizes these men are not leaving.
Terrence Malick has crafted a beautiful film. The score is lush, the photography beautiful, and the performances are just golden. At the heart of this film is a simple (and yet dramatically complicated) love story. I could have been set anywhere, in fact hundreds of films have dealt with the theme. But Malick gives us characters worth rooting for and embracing and a story that is told simply and beautiful.
Q'Orianka Kilcher embodies Pocahantas with such a sweet demeanor and striking curiosity. She is strong, and joyful, and seems unfazed by the world around her. I loved the scenes when she goes to England. Somehow her performance, which was so raw and passionate, made me believe she had never seen Western Civilization before. She is the lynch pin to this film and somehow carries it with an amount of courage and yet a simple aloofness. She makes acting look easy.
Malick also wisely doesn't pull the story down by cluttering it with dread, or political correctness. Some will probably argue that the film turns a blind eye to the suffering cause by 17th Century Colonialism. But that's not what this film is about. THE NEW WORLD is about a girl, who becomes a women at a time when the world was changing.
The film is also about groups of people exploring each other for the first time. The Settlers and the Native people don't have histories baggage to hold them back. They are simple men and women trying to figure out who these strange people are that have moved into their neighborhood. It's amazing to watch, the outcome of this history can and will be discussed for years and years. But THE NEW WORLD is not that forum.
I have my qualms with the end of the film. The story could have been a little stronger, but because the characters have so much heart and the film is so beautiful I didn't mind. At the end of the day plot developments are pointless, when you have Characters with heart and power. THE NEW WORLD is a film worth watching, and embracing. It's a strong character driven tale that is both bold and daring simply because it chooses heart over politics