The New World

Malick takes a much more understanding and visually breathtaking look at the Jamestown settlement myth than Disneys Pocahontas, even if it still romanticizes a myth.  It’s really hard to fully articulate my full feelings on this film without separating it from the tale it’s adapting, because from a technical perspective this is a fantastic film. Malick has a knack for capturing nature, both human and terran, and he really shows this off by capturing the interpersonal relationships explored here, alongside the astounding nature shots.  On the other hand, it’s a disservice to separate the tale from the retelling. It’s a disservice not to recognize what is really going on here. With knowledge of the subject or not, unfortunately it is erasure, which is a very unfortunate situation to be in. Which is why I can’t rate this any higher than a 4. Malick certainly deserves his flowers here, but the cost is the ever present stain on the film.