by MARK SLUTSKY

The reclusive, mysterious Terrence Malick has made four feature films over the last 33 years, with an average of about 11 years between each, but they’ve all been worth the wait. He may be the world’s most idiosyncratic filmmaker but he’s also probably the most brilliant. Further proof of that idiosyncrasy is his latest, The New World, which has already been re-cut several times since its initial, Academy-qualifying limited release at the end of 2005. The version we’re seeing in Montreal is something in the neighbourhood of 20 minutes shorter than the original (although, by all accounts, the cuts are an improvement).

As with all of Malick’s films, The New World is somewhat fragmentary and elliptical, but for the most part it’s about the encounter between English pilgrims and Native Americans in 17th-century Virginia. The English are led by Captain Newport (Christopher Plummer), who sends Captain John Smith, played by Colin Farrell, on a trading expedition to a Native (or as they put it, “Natural”) settlement. Farrell is soon made a prisoner of the “naturals,” where he falls in love with the beautiful princess Pocahontas (Q’Orianka Kilcher)—yes, it’s very loosely based on the same story that inspired the Disney movie.

Of course, it couldn’t be further away from the animated version. Malick is not so much a filmmaker as he is a poet, and there’s no one who can capture images and sound like he can, especially when it comes to the natural world. The New World is an often breathtakingly lyrical movie, and the only other obvious point of comparison is Malick’s other movies. Like his Days of Heaven (1978) or The Thin Red Line (1998), this is a dream of a film. It’s difficult, too, in its own way, and frustratingly cryptic or slow at points.

But still well worth it. Farrell is surprisingly good as the quiet Smith, but Q’Orianka Kilcher is the real revelation here. A relative newcomer, the Swiss-Alaskan-Peruvian-German actress effortlessly owns the screen—she’s a real joy to watch, and the heart of the movie—particularly during the somewhat slower second half. The New World may not satisfy like a conventional Hollywood narrative, but it offers so much more.

The New World is now playing

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