AT THE MOVIES WITH DILLON KIMMEL
On a peaceful day in 1607, three British ships arrive in the heart of Virginia to establish Jamestown, the first permanent settlement in the “new world.” Led by the power-hungry Captain Christopher Newport (Christopher Plummer) and the rugged rebel John Smith (Colin Farrell), an ill-equipped group of British subjects land in Chesapeake Bay, determined to set the foundation for a successful nation.
Meanwhile, the Indians have known this land for hundreds of years as home. They stand on the banks of the bay in astonishment as they watch the three “giants” slowly enveloping their bay. However, the “Naturals,” as the British call them, are as curious as they are terrified. Soon, they begin making contact with the white men, watching them as they work. They live under the false assumption that the men will soon be leaving their land and returning from where they came from. Never does it occur to them that these people would be considering a long-term stay.
Staging an expedition upriver to make contact and trade with other Indians, the daring John Smith, (the only man with any military experience) takes a small group of settlers and Indians into the forest to explore. He is quickly taken captive by the powerful Indian Chief Powhatan. He lives in the camp for some time and befriends the chief’s beautiful daughter Pocahontas (Q’Orianka Kilcher) (the name Pocahontas is never mentioned in the movie, however). And when Powhatan’s men attempt to execute Smith, Pocahontas throws herself down on him and begs her father to spare Smith’s life. Powhatan does spare his life, but makes Smith promise that once spring comes, his men will leave the land forever. As fall turns to winter, Smith continues to live in the village with the Indians and teaches Pocahontas English. Soon, Smith finds himself falling in love with her.
Smith soon returns to Jamestown to find the town decimated by disease and starvation. Most of the original settlers are dead, and the ones that remain are severely malnourished. Because of Pocahontas and Smith’s bond, the Naturals help the settlers survive their first winter in Jamestown.
But when spring arrives and more settlers arrive, the Naturals soon realize the white men have no plans of leaving. The tentative and precarious peace shared between Indian and man is about to shatter. Misunderstanding and deception soon lead to open war, and John Smith must soon make a choice: leave at once and spare innocent life or defy the king’s orders and pursue his love affair with Pocahontas.
The New World does a wonderful job of describing a tragic clash of cultures that still can be applied today. The Naturals and white men live together peacefully for months, both of which having misread the other’s intentions. The white men believe the Naturals will willingly give up some of their land, while the Naturals believe the men are leaving once spring arrives. When both realize they have been wrong all this time, they immediately resort to open warfare, and more blood is spilled than should have been necessary.
The love story in The New World is also passionate and moving. Both Smith and Pocahontas care about each other deeply (this is made very evident without any sexual interaction between the two). In fact, the audience only sees the two kiss once. [Spoiler warning] When Smith leaves Jamestown to explore and map the northern United States, Pocahontas is devastated and wastes away before the audience’s eyes as she despairs for her long lost love. The two see each other just once more in England, where Pocahontas refuses to invite Smith back into her life.
The portion of the movie that takes place in Virginia (another part takes place in England) is told through Pocahontas’ and Smith’s diary entries. At times their voices reading the entries are the only thing audible for several minutes at a time. Also, director Terrence Malick (Badlands, The Thin Red Line) pays particular attention to the surroundings, catching every angle imaginable of the beautiful forest landscape. Instead of focusing on the people, Malick focuses on their surroundings more than them, giving the movie more of an abstract feel.
Overall, The New World provides a deeply moving look into what really happened between John Smith and Pocahontas in the early 1600s. The confrontation between the white men and the Naturals is shown as being a mutual confrontation, unlike most history books that blame the war on the Indians. It is a classic story of love, betrayal, and the horrors that ensue when cultures clash.
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