The New World
I caught The New World, Terrence Malick's latest film, this past weekend. I've seen two Malick films in the theater (this and The Thin Red Line) and in both instances several people walked out in the middle fustrated with being baited by a mainstream genre (war film, historical epic) only to be bored by Malick's pensive approach (long shots of nature, no bombastic score, poetic narration). I've also seen Badlands, but that was at home on DVD and I didn't walk out.
I found The New World fascinating, beautiful, and surpisingly calming for a film that I went in thinking would foreshadow the horrors of Native American genocide. But it doesn't spend time on that topic, because it never gets to that point in history. It certainly delves into the rocky relationship between the settlers and the "naturals," as they were called by them, but it's more about the possibilities that opened when two radically different cultures meet. This film is far more optimistic than, say, Nick Roeg's Walkabout, where the meeting of two foreign cultures leads to an explicit tragic end. Here it's unspoken, but nonetheless we as viewers are painfully aware of where things are going.
My only non-trivial fustration with Malick is his tendency to use laconic and overbearing narration during drawn out otherwise quiet scenes. But I love his use of cinematography, the natural sounds on the soundtrack, and the sparse but wisely used score of James Horner. It's the kind of score I think could've made Lord of the Rings a better trilogy.
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Fuck Marco. I think we saw the Thin Red Line together. Wasn't it you, me, and Phil Mead? I remember there were people in their mid-30's (?) in front of us drinking beer from cans. Or at least I heard the sound of a can opening and smelled beer. Maybe I just wanted some beer myself.
One of them made some insightfult comments. During the "Dear John" letter sequence, he exclaimed, "I hate when that happens." And then "It's like a grenade down the pants." I was pleased that he used a battle field metaphor.
With about twenty-five or so minutes left to go, the exclaimer got up and left the theater. I thought he was going to the bathroom. So did his friend it seemed. But when he didn't come back after about twenty minutes, they too got up and left. Why was I spending my time focusing on the antics of idiots in front of us? Well, I was quite bored by what was on the screen.
I remember when those fuckers got up to leave, I wanted to grab them and say, "Oh no, we have sat in this theater for over 2.5 hours, this thing seems like it's winding down, you are staying as we are now in this together." I also remember that everytime a scene ended I thought the movie was over and my butt cheeks would clench in preparation from rising from the seat. That being said I never fantasised about crushing my own windpipe during the film as I did during Topsy Turvy.
I was with you, and it was a very unpleasant theatergoing experience. I later saw it on DVD in a better setting.
I also liked Topsy Turvy. Sorry.
i'm pretty sure i was there too. It was in winsted. I think I fell asleep.
Sure, jon, I bet you were dreaming about who shot mr. burns during the nap.
Honestly, I'm beginning to question whether you even went to high school with us. Stop implanting memories!
Jon,
You might be right. I know it was Marco, Phil, and I and that we were at Winsted. However now that you mention you fell asleep, I think you might have been there too.
The movie taught me that was is boring.
I actually did like one scene where the soldier had to stay low and seek cover in grass. I liked the pov or near pov shots. All the guy could see was blades of grass. He had no idea where enemy fire was coming from. I realize I have never been in battle, but I thought that this seemed realistic.
[...] Slate proclaims the subtle greatness of Terrence Malick’s The New World, recently released on DVD. Here’s my praise of the theatrical release. Will the fully-restored version be released? (Along with, for that matter, the rumored six-hour version of The Thin Red Line?) [...]