a very quaint and whimsical film, read me if you've already seen it! and lets reflect!

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2006)

I watched 'New World' the other night with my parting brother for old times sake, and though he usually is easily satisfied, and I am very easily disappointed, in the end we both found this movie quite pleasing. We did not argue or bicker over it as we normally would; instead, after we left, we noted a few things still on our mind such as historical accuracy, which was a minor relevance, since the movie managed to enrapture our attention so well during it. We kept quiet for the most part.
I went into this movie expecting several things I read from other reviews--that it would be 'long' and 'slow,' that I would either 'hate it, or love.' Aside from the things I noted, I'm glad I stayed and watched the movie in it's entirety--and it should be noted that New World is actually worthy of the big screen.
There were certain quaint things about this film that made it charming; the way the director (this is the first film of his I have watched) filmed from bottom up; often you were given body parts and appendages that usually don't receive so much attention--such as the neck, a stomach, a chest, or a shoulder. All in all, it made for a much more intimate feel. There were many shots of scenic things, and though they were well done, I thought they were hardly close to the merit they received from others. It was beautiful, yes (and there is a reoccurring theme in the manner they keep showing it), but it was not the beauty of nature the film captured itself that made me want to keep watching.
The actor for Pocahontas, and I do not know her name, was bewitching and lovely. It was her whimsical ability in conjunction with the director's mind, that made it so enthralling. Watching her frolic through fields of grasses, and her peculiar behavior to strangers was quite enough--but it was also her image. Throughout the movie, she seemed so innocent, and infallible to say the least. I am almost tempted even, to say she did not know what she wanted at some points because of the abrupt changes that were brought by the English.
There were also different aspects that brought a primal warmth within me. The rapport between Smith and her: two strangers in paradise. Two things came to my mind as Smith kept asking himself if he was living a dream: What is love, and can it last? It's a nifty idea to play with--and even later, Smith tells her that he is 'not who you think,' he is. One of the things my brother and I noted was the significant of holding hands. In New World, holding hands meant so much more--touch, meant so much more. It was not a trite, often meaningless thing we do nowadays.It meant something as if trust,reflecting on what Pocahontas said before she held Wolfe's hand: "Are you kind?" Turning something we take for granted and transforming it into something so meaningful is not easy, particularly in film, on screen--and that should be applauded.
There was also Wolfe's introduction into the film. We all know from historical texts that he marries Pocahontas, and during the film, I was pretty disinclined toward Wolfe, seeing as how he was the second to appear, and Smith was the first. But later, he emerges as a very, respectable man, and when he first set his sight on Pocahontas, it brought about a very reminiscent feel in me, the way he watched her go about in social solitary, his mind rolling thoughts about her,"What do you dream about?" In honesty, it reminded me of Jr. high, when girls suddenly no longer had koodies, and we wished we knew all we could about them in intangible romances.
On a side note, the scene where Pocahontas mourned Smith's belied death was very touching, and not to say, the least corny.
Minimal dialogue and voice-overs are a touch that I have never witnessed before, and am quite surprised that it didn't make the film difficult to grasp or interfere with it's flow. The voice-overs in fact, helped personify what the characters were thinking, and made it more personal with the audience, while the dialogue pushed the plot and action on through. It was very much a character-driven film.
The music was complimentary, and though you realize the same song or cadence is playing over and over, it's not repetitive. The score for the final closing of the movie was quite, powerful and not overly long either. It ended almost like an ode to Pocahontas, as it very much was her story. All in all, it gave good closure--that or you just get better closure from long movies.
This was a thinking cap movie. I thought a lot about it afterward. In reflection it's still pretty amazing, the myth about Pocahontas. Historical accuracy doesn't really matter now that I think about it, and it wasn't a big determinant in the first place. It's just a myth, about people or a person, whose story was significant enough, or managed to stay alive long enough, and it was inspiring enough that people draw up their own versions of it.