The New World

Terrence Malick's new film The New World is a disappointment. Beautiful as the cinematography may be, it lacks the lyricism of his earlier three films. All of his films are slow-paced, deep and philosophical. But this one is especially slow. It lacks focus and at times seems poorly directed. In one scene the characters in the Jamestown settlement, reacting to an attack of the Indians, shamble around in apparent indifference, as if they've been instructed to "shamble around." Malick fails to connect the story of Pocahontas to the larger story of the New World's discovery and colonization. The story is simply told, and then it is over.

I've always felt Malick's films were extraordinary. Badlands is one of the great films of the 1970s. Days of Heaven is almost as good. And although The Thin Red Line was over long and sometimes too complex (too many characters), it was still a wonder--the voiceover narration in particular was deeply moving and invested the film with mystery and significance. The cinematography was stunning and in a strange, disturbing way made war horrifically beautiful. In The New World the cinematography sometimes seems murky. And it takes us nowhere. Only when Malick follows Pocahontas to England to meet the King and Queen does the film briefly come to life. I enjoyed watching The New World, but I did not like it.

Senses of Cinema profile on Malick