"The New World" directed by Terence Malick [review]

Abstract

Terrence Malick, the elusive and faintly mysterious director of four films that arguably stand as masterpieces one and all, usually brings the film world to a dead halt when he releases a new work. Badlands was a stunning début in 1973; kickstarting the careers of its lead actors Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek, it made cinematic poetry of its young-lovers-on-the-run narrative. Days of Heaven (1978) is regarded by many cinematographers as the most beautiful film ever committed to celluloid, and The Thin Red Line, Malick’s 1998 piece, was rapturously received around the world (by critics at least; many cinemagoers found the film too demanding, and its philosophy too convoluted, to stay with it). That film brought its director back into the limelight after twenty years in obscurity, and it stands as the most deeply felt anti-war film since Platoon.