The New World

Films on the first 2 pages of the Film Festival program are usually safe bets. But ‘The New World’ by Terrence Malick (‘The Thin Red Line’) should be avoided. Its only redeeming features of this film are the beautiful photograph, Pocahontas in the forest and the realism of the recreation of the English settlement of Virginia. If you must go and see it, take your favorite 2.5 hours of relaxing music loaded on your I-Pod.

The forests, rivers and marshes look wonderful. The Indians look alien and the English look grubby (except for the thin upper crust of society). The message, trumpeted loud and clear throughout is that, in this clash of civilizations the horrible English colonizers will either kill themselves with their stupidity or crush the idyllic Indian civilization. Only Captain John Smith and Pocahontas’s father can see this. The pace is mind numbingly slow in what seems to be Terrance Malick’s style.

Ian’s Rating: 1/5
Anne’s Rating: ?/5