The New World

Annotation for 70mm film seminar 2007 by Pavla Bergmannová

The legend of Pocantohas in a demythologized presentation by director Terrence Malick. In a typically meditative, hypnotically slow flow of images, with a loose story framework and on the contrast of two cultures, Malick portrays his fundamental theme – the split between nature (its fragility, innocence and purity) in contrast to the destruction of the members of the“ civilized” world.

At the beginning of the 17th century, North America was a seemingly impenetrable wilderness, inhabited by a diverse mixture of native tribes. Although these natives lived in harmony with nature, their coexistence was fraught with disagreements and tribal strife. In this situation, any newcomer from the outside world caused an imbalance in these relations. In April 1607, however, three ships from the island of England appear on the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean. The settlers are to create conditions for the emergence of their own culture, faith and economy in the territory they call the New World. A rebel named John Smith is imprisoned below deck on one of the ships. He is to be hanged on land for disobeying orders. Captain Newport, however, sets Smith free, knowing that survival in an unknown land will require every able­‑bodied man – including Smith, a veteran of many European wars.

The surprised settlers soon discover that they have landed in a territory controlled by a sophisticated tribe ruled by the powerful chief Powhatan. Smith makes his first contact with the natives and meets the beautiful girl Pocahontas, the daughter of a feared chief. A bond soon develops between Smith and Pocahontas. A bond so strong that it gives rise to one of the oldest American legends.

Terrence Malick has been thinking about this subject for 25 years. He used historically accurate facts about the settlement of Virginia, against which the dramatic story of two strong, determined characters unfolds – the passionate and noble native Pocahontas and the ambitious conqueror, who decides between his civic duty and the insistent desire of his own heart.

In order to reconstruct the historical details (costumes, props, plot twists) as faithfully as possible, Malick hired a number of expert consultants. He cast Colin Farrell in the main role of the earthy but romantic Smith, but it was much more difficult to find a performer for the main female role – Pocahontas. The production held castings for several months throughout the United States and Canada, and they even wanted to try their luck in South America. In the end, quite by chance, they came across a photo of a girl who had applied for another casting, and thus discovered the extremely interesting face and acting talent of the fifteen­‑year­‑old Q'Orianka Kilcher for the film, whose physiognomy certainly does not deny her Native American roots.

The film was shot in Virginia and Great Britain in the unconventional 65 mm format, which significantly influenced the quality of the image with its typically meditative, hypnotically slow flow. Similarly to Malick's previous films, in The New World, nature also plays a major role, not only creating a picturesque backdrop, but symbolizing a strong metaphor for the inner states of the heroes. Moreover, on the contrast of the two cultures, Malick depicts his fundamental theme – the split between nature (its fragility, innocence and purity) and the destruction of the members of the "civilized" world. Malick managed to film an elegy for a vanished America and at the same time for an America that was yet to be created.