The New World

Gorgeous. Malick's latest film has such impressive poetic power that I am able to forgive him for the sometimes abbreviated narrative that forces the viewer to make a lot of assumptions. While in The Thin Red Line the main characters' inner speeches sometimes literally bothered me, here, with the help of charming poetic shots of nature and its people, they flawlessly and perfectly completed the flow of the story. Malick only sketches the differences between the English immigrants and the Indians, he doesn't play with historical facts, he just tells a story of love, of its power, which here is very tangible without any sex scenes, only through touching and sparing kisses. Horner's music, hand in hand with motifs by Mozart and Wagner, can send shivers down the spine, and the charming Princess Pocahontas, with her overwhelmingly beguiling smile, is excellent. This film doesn't belong on a computer screen, this film belongs in theaters, glorified Warner Brothers executives! One of the best films of 2005. (10/04/2006)

An atmospheric, slow moving work where nothing really happens, but still it works overall. Simply classic Terrence Malick as we know him best. However, the running time is a significant problem, because the feelings that Malick instils and the topics that he addresses could have been presented with the same or perhaps much better results even in a considerably shorter movie. (25/01/2007)

The interesting director Terrence Malick and I do not see eye to eye. My down-to-earth realistic and materialistic view of the world is not compatible with Malick's world of magical images, lyrical emptiness, broken souls, inner monologues, and excessive runtime. He will probably never receive the highest rating from me, but if he ever managed to come close to this mark, it was precisely with this film. In the first half, I truly considered several times the fact that such impressive images capturing the mood of the situation and the characters' personalities could not go unrewarded. The New World is not just a film about the colonization of the wilderness and the clash of two completely different cultures and incomparable value hierarchies, but above all, it is a film about love - the passionate kind that breaks down all barriers, simply love without restraints, but also about the mature love that grows out of knowledge and wisdom. Malick's storytelling is based on the true story of the prehistory of European penetration into the American continent. It fairly adheres to (the few) known facts, and his film is thus the most authentic version of legendary tales like Pocahontas. Overall impression: 85%. (20/02/2014)

This is beautiful. The more realistic story of Pocahontas and John Smith and John Rolfe. An emotional film that has everything. The preparations were demanding, not only in terms of time, which is why we can, unfortunately, forget about other films in a similar style being made more often. (03/04/2019)

Given the topic and the title of the film, one could expect an exciting, grand, dazzling adventure with monumental battles and gallons of blood, but the director would have to be someone other than Terrence Malick. The Thin Red Line really got on my nerves – philosophy and war didn't quite go together – but here it works. A new world, a new culture, new people, occasional inner voices, love exalted up to the clouds (in an absolutely captivating and peculiar way), and a high-quality film is born. No boredom whatsoever, and anyone who claims otherwise is completely out of touch. The New World has an incredible poetic power, which, together with the beautiful cinematography, creates an incomparably powerful viewing experience. The concise storytelling is excellent, the director doesn't treat the audience like complete idiots and leaves some room for their creativity as well. The peculiar editing can be forgiven, and the lack of action is understandable. I was worried for no reason. (08/03/2007)

Another of Malick's pictorial-musical symphonies. A New World symphony. Great actors (Colin Farrell definitely surprised me, but after Christian Bale appeared on the screen, I forgot about him), beautiful nature captured with perfect cinematography, perhaps Horner's best soundtrack ever, the director's magical eye for details... Everything works as perfectly as possible. Another beautifully poetic film that never gets boring, and which always makes me feel so good.__P.S. I'd be interested in an extended director's cut. (23/07/2011)