The Bottom Line
Pros
- Lyrical, cinematic rendering of the tale of Pocahontas
- Captivating performance by teenage actress Q'orianka Kilcher
- Interesting depiction of culture clash during a pivotal historical period
Cons
- Some people feel film has insufficient narrative drive and/or dramatic intensity
- Some complain story is too slow-moving and there's too little realistic character interaction
- DVD's only extra of any consequence is a not-so-good making-of documentary
Description
- DVD containing historical drama The New World (2005) about Pocahontas and Jamestown
- Film written and directed by Terrence Malick (Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line)
- Movie stars Colin Farrell and impressive newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher
- Film received Academy Award nomination for cinematography
- DVD contains 10-part making-of documentary with total running time just under an hour
- MPAA rating: PG-13 for some intense battle sequences
- Feature run time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- DVD release date: May 9, 2006
Guide Review - The New World DVD
The New World is writer-director Terrence Malick's version of the tale of Pocahontas (teenage newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher) and the two British men who come into her life, Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) and farmer John Rolfe (Christian Bale). The time frame is 1607-1617, and the backdrop is the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. But I don't think this is so much a journey into history as it is a trip inside Malick's mind.
I didn't realize at first that Malick was going to focus on the arc of Pocahontas' life. It's a fascinating slant on a story known to me since elementary school. Q'orianka Kilcher is captivating in the role. Pocahontas is the first character we see and her grave is one of the last images. The other characters are there to help define her journey.
Malick is a visual poet, and I loved his cinematic rendering of the tale. The film has lyrical shots of things like trees, birds, grass, and water. All this beauty takes time, and although I was enthralled by the visual nature of The New World, the pacing may try the patience of some. Although the film doesn't have a lot of narrative drive or dramatic intensity, Malick's dreamlike filmic style mesmerized me, and I was never bored.
On DVD, The New World has only one extra of any consequence, a making-of in which Malick seemingly did not participate. It details certain technical aspects of the film, but I found it dry.
