The New World

Eine weitere visuell-musikalische Sinfonie von Malick. The New World. Ausgezeichnete Schauspieler*innen (Colin Farrell hat mich wirklich überrascht, aber von dem Moment an, als auf der Leinwand Christian Bale erschienen ist, habe ich ihn ganz vergessen), eine wunderschöne Natur, die mit einer perfekten Kamera aufgenommen wurde, der wahrscheinlich beste Soundtrack von Horner überhaupt, Malicks magisches Gefühl für Details… Alles funktioniert so perfekt, dass es nicht besser sein könnte. Ein herrlich poetischer Film, der nicht langweilig ist und der bei mir immer ein angenehmes Gefühl auslöst.__PS: Es würde mich interessieren, wie der Director's Cut aussieht. (23.07.2011)

Eine reizende Angelegenheit. Die realistischere Geschichte von Pocahontas und John Smith und John Rolfe. Ein Sinnesfilm mit allem Drum und Dran. Die Vorbereitungen waren anspruchsvoll, nicht nur in zeitlicher Hinsicht, weshalb man leider vergessen kann, dass andere Filme in einem ähnlichen Stil häufiger gedreht werden würden. (03.04.2019)

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)

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)

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)