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The New World (PG-13, 2005)

common sense media says

Poetic telling of John Smith and Pocahontas myth.

parents & educators say
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this film is focused on a clash of civilizations, European and Native Indian, beginning in 1607. Depicted largely in metaphorical imagery of woods, fields, rivers, and the settlement called Jamestown, the movie shows the difficulty of intercultural communication. It includes battle scenes (with guns, spears, tomahawks, explosions, and bloody bodies), as well as long, lyrical (non-narrative) passages that might be uninteresting for some younger viewers.

Positive messages: Old world and New World encounters are the subject of this movie. European settlers corrupt the land and abuse the Native peoples already residing in the "New World."
Positive role models: It is hard to call out anything in this film as role model worthy because of the incredibly culturally sensitive material being explored. Needless to say, wrongs of the past do not exist in a vacuum, and this film can certainly instigate a discussion between you and your teen about America's shared colonial past.
Violence: Battle scenes include explosions, spearings, shootings, and beatings.
Sex: Kissing and nuzzling in primitive setting; declarations of love.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Some smoking and drinking by the Europeans; Native rituals involve hallucinatory images.
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More on The New World

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the myth of John Smith and Pocahontas: given that she was probably 10 or 11 when they first met (and she saved him from death ordered by her father, a king), why might stories persist that theirs was a romance, based in mutual love and interests? 
  • How does this version differ from the 1995 animated Disney musical, Pocahontas?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Ambitious and gorgeous, Terrence Malick's THE NEW WORLD revisits the myth of the circa-1607 romance between Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) and Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher), revealing its characters' yearnings in landscapes and voiceovers. The romance occurs as Smith stays for months with the tribe -- whom the Europeans deem "the naturals" -- in an ostensible effort to help his own men survive, to win favor and learn strategies of living with the land rather than pitted against it. But even though Smith extols his hosts' communal values ("They no jealousy, no sense of possession"), he can't absorb them. Instead, he is bedeviled by his ambition, enticed by a new voyage to discover the Indies, leaving behind a lie for Pocahontas, that he's died at sea, so he never need return to her. Though she mourns for her lost love, she agrees to marry the solid, loyal, unexciting John Rolfe (Christian Bale).

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Malick's film is of two minds. On one hand, it refutes this pretty story by making Smith overtly a problem, an arrogant adventurer. On another, it offers poetic images to suggest she continues to love this white invader even after he abandons her.

Impressionistic as his films will be, Malick brings to bear on this saga a fascinated (and at times, fascinating) patience, as his camera wafts over natural woodsy scenes or dense rainfalls. Pocahontas warns John Rolfe, "There are things you don't know, things you could not guess." Ah yes, but her ripe mystery is so captivating that he can't not want her. However Rolfe or Smith or even you comprehend her, Pocahontas' tragedy is just this desire, that has so little to do with her.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: New Line
Director: Terrence Malick
Cast: Christian Bale, Colin Farrell, Q'Orianka Kilcher
Genre: Drama
Run time: 150 minutes
Theatrical release: December 23, 2005
DVD release: May 9, 2006
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: some intense battle sequences
This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 
 

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What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

Christc878
adult
 
great historical movie
I like historical movies, so I liked this one.I showed a different picture of what the Jamestown settlement looked like than I imagined. I enjoyed the movie.
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moviefanatic411
adult
 
Good movie, but way too long
This movie is an excelent movie but 2 1/2 hours of walking around places is too much. It was gory durin battle scence but other than that it was okay. But kids 13 and under will get bored will all the nonsence. If you are learning it in S.S. they may enjoy it, but other than that, 14 and up.
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quicksilver369
adult
 
Boring Movie
My husband and I like historial dramas however this one is so boring and hard to follow. I did like the visialization of the Jamestown settlement, it did give you an idea of the struggles the settlers had to overcome. We couldn't wait to turn this never ending story off.
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MissGC
adult
 
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helped me decide (4) | had useful details (4) | read my mind (2)
CSM Screen ...
teen, 17 years old
 
not bad for kids but not aimed at them
I saw this movie because I'm studying the English Colonies for school. If your kid is studying Jamestown, go let your kid see it. This movie is a low PG-13, there's some violence but most of the movie really has none. I say if a kid wants to see it they can, but if they don't that's OK, it's not aimed at kids anyways. Bloody bodies? maybe one with a nice blood splot but otherwise none.
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ILuvCats
teen, 13 years old
12
 
Horrible!
I know it looks good but please don't watch it! When I watched this movie I was horrified! No site tells you that there are multiple scenes where sex is implied. The music in the movie is the same song played over and over again! This movie is not good to history! Don't watch this movie!
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