The New World

It is Mother's Day weekend and I am at a loss for words and what to do. So, I am here yet again to talk about a movie of mine I watched a few weeks ago; The New World. I didn't even stay awake to see the end of it. I remember how it ends. It is not a new movie, and the last time I had watched it was a few years ago. I had just moved into my own apartment by myself, and I watched it falling asleep next to the first love of my life. I was woken up in the middle of the night by him leaving and I didn't even turn the movie off before going back to sleep. I woke up again in the morning, alone, to see the DVD menu replaying itself over, and over again. I got out of bed and pushed "play" on the DVD player and listened to it again as I showered and got ready to leave for work. I would leave it in to only put it on to play again when I got home from work to fall asleep to it again, to remember him. It was the last time I got to be next to him. I wonder sometimes when things happen if we realize it is for the last time the occurrence is happening. I didn't realize it would be the last time, and I never asked myself what I would've done if I had known. It is pointless to dwell on the question "what if" once it is all said and done. I think if I had watched a different movie at the time, I wouldn't have been as affected by it. But it seems that at times of stress in my life, music and movies pop up in my life that reflect my situation, and the characters of The New World reflected me at the time.

The New World is yet another film adaptation of Pocahontas and the love story inbetween her and John Smith. I actually have a personal interest in reading about the history of the Indians, and anything about them in general. I particularly am fascinated by the accounts of white people that were taken captive by the indians. I steer clear of all the "hollywood-ized" versions of Pocahontas, but I remember at the time I had seen numerous sneak-peaks of this film and decided to give it a try. Collin Ferrel is casted as John Smith, and a few other main stream actors are included in the credits. Christian Bale, as well, appears as the man later to marry Pocahontas. The girl casted to play the Indian princess is captivating and interesting to watch as a new actress.

The first thing I noticed is that the film photography is incredible. Hands down, I have never seen another film with such beautiful imagery. The soundtrack complements it gently without underplaying itself. The dialogue is kept to a minimum, and truly, every frame is worth a thousand words. Everything is so expressive, from the expressions on the actor's face, to the sound of river water and the hum of insects thriving in/around the banks. It is a fine piece of work to be proud of. I was impressed with the fact that the film did not get lost in the history of the story, but that it took the risk of exploring the actual people's characters emotional make-up. It is usually risky to portray historical people's emotional battles, because it will be criticized not only by movie-going peers, but also by historical fact. Usually the actors pen themselves in with the script not wanting to overstep boundaries, and yet the actors here stooped below the boundaries and found original feeling for these characters within the story. The script really does emphasize points that history does not highlight very much. For example that John Smith actually was treated as a traitor for having made mutinous remarks on numerous occasions on the expedition and almost got hanged upon arrival to the new world. Watching the whole movie unfold, I began to not see the same old story told over by history, but an actual story. I didn't feel like I was watching the worn out story of Pocahontas and John Smith. I was seeing the end of innocence, and the finding of goodness after losing it. I had always seen it portrayed in a god-like sense. I had never looked beyond the surface of the legend because it all seemed so fairy-tale and untouchable, however upon witnessing this, I saw the legend in a new light. I saw that they were people just like me. I was awed by the talent of the actors and the weaving of the script and theme, and directing, etc. As a whole, this movie enveloped me. It took something I thought I knew, and showed me, I hadn't even seen below the surface. It is incredible to see Pocahontas evolve from naive girl, to budding woman. Even though it is over two hours long and could become tedious, it is easy to get lost in.

I, of course, am biased towards The New World. I honestly believe though that it is a profound portrayal whether it were to have sentimental value to me or not. I didn't have the courage to watch this movie till now, not wanting to remind myself of past hurts. I finally summed up the gumption though realizing that past hurts shouldn't stop me from enjoying good things. The New World really is a good thing to be enjoyed.