Released: 02/20/06

Viewed: 2:45pm 01/20/06

Starring: Colin Farrell, Q'Orianka Kilcher, Christian Bale

Directed by: Terrance Malick

New Line Cinema Official Site of the movie

For some reason, The New World doesn't seem real. I mean, I was aware of it, I knew it was coming out, but it seemed to come out to no acclaim, no press, no attention, no reviews, no Colin Farrell on Conan? It was just all of the sudden there. I can't say this helped with my expectations of the film. From the big scale look of it I projected it to be an Oscar contender, but no attention means no awards.

I was really surprised when the movie turned out to be a carefully mastered love story with strong yet subtle acting, and some of the best editing I've seen since starting Joe Loves Crappy Movies. It's a shame it's not getting a lot of attention.

Truth be told the editing is what sold me on the movie. From the get go it's distinctive and exceptional to the point where it stands out form the rest of the film and makes an impression. Often that's not a good sign. For instance if you notice how good the score to a film is, you're not paying attention to the story. Music and sound and editing are all supposed to be secondary and are meant to do nothing but emphasize the story. So any other day this would be a red mark, but the use of editing in the New World as an element of time was a rare treat.

You see - there are moments in the movie that are meant to represent long periods of time. Long periods of time in which our two stars John Smith and Pocahontas are shown falling in love. To believe that they are falling in love we have to believe that time is passing, and that may seem like an easy thing to do, except these people don't speak the same language. What could so easily be accomplished with a conversation about what she wore "last week" now has to be done with looks and expressions.

I suppose they could have shown the passing of time with the obvious markers like the changing of the seasons. Instead, through editing, we see short glimpses into their days over the 3-month period. 5 seconds of him seeing her play with the children. 1 second of them fishing. 2 seconds of them walking on the beach. There was this consistent jumping that would force you to move on with the story. It forced you to accept what had happened as a larger event, and focus on the new event. Explaining it now, it sounds like a jarring experience but it was so beautiful and really made an impression on me. I felt like I'd spent 2 months with them after only half an hours worth of film.

Partial credit for this working successfully has to go to the two actors because "looks" and "expressions" are great ideas on the page, but they're non-existent if you don't have the talent to pull it off.

Farrell does a remarkable job as John Smith. I admit, I thought that this was him taking a shot at the awards. You can tell he wants one. He wants it more than Hanks did in the 90's. More than Crowe did before Gladiator. Hell, even after Galdiator. Last years effort, Oliver Stone's Alexander, ended in disaster both critically and commercially. I saw it, and thought it was pretty interesting, but flawed and perhaps too high concept. Not what people were looking for. I sort of expected a similar experience with The New World but it was very much different.

What's interesting about Colin's performance is that there's almost no dialogue. He and Q'Orianka Kilcher (who plays Pocahontas) spend I would say close to 60% of their time on screen not talking. They're forced to rely on true skill to move the scenes along. My description sounds very method, very "I'm a tree" sort of acting. But it was incredible to watch.

Kilcher at the time of filming was 14 years old. After the initial shock and quick math to figure out how old Colin was when she was born, it sinks in that this kid is seriously talented. No joke, she's one hell of a find. I kept thinking that if she's this good this young, then she'll be a true force when she's old enough to actually kiss her costars on screen. It's true, you never see their lips touch, but somehow you still believe the love.

Along with the ending these things above were the most interesting things about the film to me. I'm sure I could go into historical accuracy or how the Native Americans were somehow misrepresented but I feel no need to. This may be an accurate representation, I don't know. Truth is it doesn't matter. You can strip away all the trimmings and the story will still be the same. All you need is love.

Without getting into spoilers I need to talk about the ending. Many of you may have heard rumors that it's unexpected or shocking or a let down. It is without a doubt unexpected. You watch the movie and get wrapped up in it, and you forget that it's based on actual events. There's a way it's "supposed" to end because that is the way all happy movies end. And when it takes a different turn it's a very sour shock.

I was almost viciously angry about it at the time, but as the movie wound down it got me thinking about life and love and how love can be different. Made me think about high school love, and crushes, and that girl in my art history class with the red tank top. Then true love, comfort, and stability. What wins out? What's real? Can you have both?

So even though the ending twisted me upside down it had me asking all the right questions. It had me thinking. I had way more reflection on life after watching The New World, than I did after watching Big Momma's House 2. And in the long run, those thoughts are much more satisfying than the ending I thought I wanted. 8 out of 10. I was just completely taken in by it. I can't think of anything in the story that was profound or enlightening or insightful, but I enjoyed every second of it. But I say wait to rent. I feel bad giving out bad advice and this is a movie that you'll either love or hate. I'd rather you save a couple bucks if you're taking my word for it.

DVD worthy?: Nah. I'd like Yeo to see it though because I'd actually be interested in discussing it with someone. But I've no need to own it.

If you liked this movie check out: Titanic

As corny a choice as Titanic is, it's actually a pretty good fit. Both are mammoth epics. Both are, at their core, love stories that have unanticipated endings. Different endings, but definitely unexpected. There's a certain way you expected most loves stories to finish, and I think the direction each of these choose shows an incredible amount of maturity to realism and art.

I have my own personal problems with Titanic, but it's far from a bad movie. Any movie that makes a bajillion-trillion dollars must be doing something right.

Trailer Hitch: A scanner Darkly

A now for something completely different? A Scanner Darkly. From the mind of Philip K. Dick and the eye of Richard Linklater comes the story of a future society filled with government spies. I love Philip's stories so I have no fear there. Linklater can tell a good tale, but the real mind warp for this movie is its presentation. It's all filmed animation, meaning they shot a movie and then had animators come in and "draw" right over the existing footage.

This method has been used in a few recent TV commercials and in Linklater's 2001 critical hit Waking Life. The resulting footage is weird, but interesting. It's eerily recognizable. Before they even say it's Keanue you can tell it's him. You're spotting them left and right. "That's Winona Ryder and holy crap! Woody Harrolson!" It's a very strange thing to watch in a 3-minute trailer, I can't imagine how a 2-hour movie will be. I'm extremely interested in how the animated technology will fit with the hyper sci-fi story line. Either way, I'll make fun of it in the comic.

Today's incentive is the dangerous basket of puppies But don't forget to vote everyday! The month long event Joe Loses an Eye wages on with updates every weekday. In fact this image of Pocohantas will only be up until 1 pm. Then I'm switching over to Joe Loses an Eye # 5. 2 incentives in one day! Can you handle it!?

Non movie related stuff:

The response to the incentive bundle and the Constantine comic over at Clickwheel has been awesome, so you'll definitely see more special comics and more incentive bundles there soon. Possibly even a grouping of the Secret tales of Super Hero Virginity from way back in September.

Huge thanks again to the good folks at Neo Monster Island who spent the last 2 weeks advertising with us. Even kicking our asses on the Top web comics list! But it's ok, I'm so thrilled they decided to advertise with us, and I hope it worked out as well for them. I mean, we're pretty cheap to advertise with, but I still hope they got more than their monies worth.