The New World is inviting for anyone I would think, living in America, because it's an important and significant time in our history...well it's before we were a country, but that’s just it. This story is about those who came before us. This is the story of Pocahontas and John Smith.

TNW plays out with the arrival of three sailing ships to the land of what is now the state of Virginia. The year is 1607 and John Smith is one of the crewmembers of these ships. Smith is played by Colin Farrell, who by now I feel has somewhat become an actor known more for his dashing looks than actual acting ability. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here; he plays the character of John Smith well, though it’s hard to imagine what the real John Smith was like enough to know who to cast for this role in the first place.

Terence Malick is the filmmaker who leads this juggernaut of historical relevance and cinematic beauty. The challenge to recreate something centuries ago AND make it as authentic and real as possible is not easy. Malick and everyone else involved did a great job in this department. This is experienced from the opening scenes of the movie. The great ships and their exhausted crews get to shore and begin scouting around the beautiful meadows and forests that lie in front of them. In the distance are Native Americans, with various face paint designs and lithe bodies, who marvel at the ships that are coming into their views. The directing and filming of the movie are done well as they present the natural beauty of the land as something new and foreign, exciting yet scary at the same time. I imagine when the Native Americans were looking down at these ships it would be similar to you and me seeing a giant flying saucer. Little did they know that their lives, livelihood, and ultimately their culture's future were about to change forever.

Once on the island they soon of course, run into the natives. The men of these ships wear armor, the natives barely clothed. Both regard the other with curiosity and caution. The captain of the group is wary of the people he calls "naturalists" and decides to build a fort. His plan is to have the men start building dwellings inside the fort, and plant crops to live on in the fall. The captain says he is returning in the spring, and leaves to go get more men and supplies. Meanwhile, John Smith, who was in shackles and nearly executed when they got to the island via treasons talk, is now freed to redeem himself, and is soon given a mission. That mission is to embark out into the land and speak with the leader of these native people.

Smith at this point is probably thinking that it’s better than the hangman's noose, so he accepts the job. Soon he's in the territory and whisked away to the encampment of the naturalists, who by now some of the men at the fort are starting to call "savages". Smith is nearly killed after speaking to their leader but is saved by a beautiful young woman named Pocahontas, who tells her people to spare his life. She is then given the task to teach as well as learn from this John Smith, and together they start to learn language, culture, and in the background...love.

Smith then returns after some time to the men at the fort, only to find they are pretty much starving to death and those that haven't are dying of disease. He takes charge and gets them motivated to live and work as a team the best he can, but soon there is mutiny again and Smith has his leadership role taken away from him by another.

The Native's aren't stupid. They see what is going on, and so far have pretty much treated the men like visitors, since they are expecting, and hoping, that they will leave. Soon they find that crops are growing from seeds given to them by Pocahontas. Their peers challenge loyalties within both her and Smith, with Pocahontas ultimately being outcast by her father (who is the leader of the natives). Smith tries his best to keep their "relationship" under wraps though by now everyone pretty much knows he's not sneaking off into the woods to gather timber for the fort.

During this whole time there is an intensity and suspenseful buildup to a huge fight scene in which the natives attack the fort. In the meantime in the back of my mind, and probably everyone’s, we are wondering when more ships will start arriving from England, with food, supplies, and of course, the greed of man. The ships arrive, and soon the villages farther inland are set ablaze. Pocahontas is now with the men at the fort, but the man she loves has accepted a request from the king of England to return home to assemble another expedition to the Indies.

An interesting quote I liked was when Smith was at the native’s camp after arriving there on his original scouting mission. Two natives are talking and one says:

"Its only a bit of swampland they want"

The other replies: "For now, but what will they take in times to come?"

So far my review has sounded more about "Whitey" coming in and taking over, but that is not my intent. Its what leads up to the rest of this movie. Its not necessarily about who was right or wrong, who is good or bad, its about Pocahontas. Her impact with both sides as well as her life after leaving for England is shown more later in the film.

The special features part was very fun as they showed how they made the film. The location of filming was 10 miles from the original spot that the fort mentioned earlier was originally built! It goes behind the scenes to show us the casting for Pocahontas, which took over 8 months of searching. It also gives more in depth looks at the culture of the Native Americans at that time. The movie does not portray these people as Indians of Western Hollywood. They aren't scalping and shooting arrows at anything that moves. They are portrayed as serene, unique, family oriented, and peaceful, attacking only to defend their family and home. The movie did a great job of giving us a spiritual essence with the natives and that was largely helped as well by great narrations throughout the movie by Smith and Pocahontas.

The latter part of the movie tended to get a bit dull as it shows what happened to Smith and Pocahontas later meeting another man. I won't spoil it for you there any more, suffice to say that as spiritual and moving as the film was in many areas, the place it should have hit us the hardest kind of to me, just fizzled out without much fanfare. All I can say is that though it moves somewhat slowly, it still has a cinematic appeal as well as historical reverence to it to keep you interested. It did for me anyways. Again, if your a history buff or do watch the movie and enjoy it, check out the special features disc and select "Making the New World!

Special Features:

Making the New World
Core Training
Finding Pocahontas
Recreating the Powhatan
Along the Chickahominy River
Werewocomoco
Jamestown
The John Rolfe Plantation
The Battle
England



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older