The New World - 7

When I originally saw the trailers for this film I thought: "this looks like a really cheesy film about how Europe discovered America." In fact this film is really about how Europe misunderstood what they had discovered, and that we today also forget the different possibilities of how to live on this planet. Another reason that I loved this film is that Terrence Malik (Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line) is a great director (Hat tip to Paul for pointing him out), using all natural light and using nature as the main character with the dialogue sparse and quiet. There is probably many levels to the film, which will require another viewing. It is interesting to see the contrast in the film from America and England. The stark contrast made me think about the modern project to try to think of nature as man-made, rather than seeing people as nature-made, as seems to be the case with the Native Americans. The story follows John Smith (played by Colin Farrell) and his love for Pocahontas (played by newcomer Q'Orianka Kilcher) and the cultural clash this creates for both of them. She eventually marries and goes to England. While this film is not for everyone, I enjoyed it as fitting with Malik's other works. The shots of nature are beautiful.