[catscratch]

This seems to be the type of film that is going to polarize audiences everywhere. Invariably, one side will call it boring and self indulgent, while the other will praise it's artistic merits, and insinuate that those that didn't like it simply don't have the capacity to appreciate artistic movies.

I hated it. I'd like to think that I don't belong in either camp, and I saw the movie for the attempt at visual poetry that it was (in my opinion). I think, however, that it is a massively failed attempt. The director used the same exact slow panning shot technique and wide angles in every single scene, repeated the same cinematic motif over and over ad nauseum, and was entirely too heavy-handed in trying to evoke emotion from the audience. The movie lacked the grace and the artistic diversity in order to carry it's point across. Initially, the style was unique and engrossing, then it got repetitive, then it became boring, and finally it became really irritating. I would have walked out of the theater if I had the chance.

I would consider Kar Wai Wong's "2046" a successful attempt at this kind of visual poetry, as is Jarmusch's "Dead Man," which may very well be my favorite movie ever. I also liked "The Thin Red Line." I was very disappointed with this movie. Yes, I got the parallels and symbolism with the main character's development arc... and I didn't care for them.

I'd like to hear some opinions from those that have seen the movie. It's worth discussing at the very least.

 

[BodiesOfLight]

I was listening to them talk about the movie on NPR, pretty interesting. I know I'll enjoy it.

 

[vcoheda]

I think The New World is one of the greatest movies ever made. It is a richly layered, leisurely paced, visual epic of American history that hypnotizes the viewer through sights, sounds and colors. The cinematography is gorgeous. Every scene is a work of art. The acting is also strong. Colin Farrell was excellent as John Smith, the young English Captain whose ambition is as strong as his passion. Christopher Plummer and Christian Bale likewise gve good performances. The former is authorative and the latter is good natured. But the star of the movie is newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher who plays Pocahontas. She is a beautiful and talented actress whose tremendous presence shines through every scene. Pocahontas is the character that the picture is founded on and the movie is about her transition from native to English woman and the love and loss that she (and her people) experience.

I also love the music. The prelude from Das Rheingold is used for the New World motif (which both cultures experience), and the haunting adagio from Mozart's piano concerto no. 23 is used to signify the love between John Smith and Pocanhantos. The film has elements of a conventional story (which most movies are exclusively) but is more so a powerful experience that the audience feels through an incredible montage of images (ocean, sky, forests), internal monologues, and Kilcher's expressions, which are sometimes joyful but mostly plaintive.

I have seen this movie twice already and plan to go a third time. It is well suited for the big screen. I highly recommend it.

 

[ricardo diaz]

I should have snuck out and snuck in to see Munich again.
The movie would have been better if it were at least an hour shorter.
I pulled my beanie over my eyes and fell alseep during part of it.

The sequence seemed to go in a slow-loud/fast-slow pattern, and was really annoying. Yes, it was pretty, too, but there's a point.