Post by klep on Dec 12, 2016 7:50:26 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 12/12: The New World
NATURE FILMS EDITION
A common thread running through Terrence Malick's work is the contrast between the natural world and the world of man. He doesn't always focus on it, but it's always there - in the derricks among the plains in Badlands or To The Wonder, or the contrast between the steel works and the wheat fields in Days of Heaven.
But it's in The New World that he addresses this theme most directly. It focuses on the meeting of two peoples - one which lives in concert with nature, understands it and can live within it, and one which dominates nature, tries to subdue it and flails when nature does not bend to its whim. Most of the film focuses on John Smith (Colin Farrell) as he struggles with his loyalty to his people and his king, and his desire to abandon them to live in the forest with Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher). It's only after he exits the film that there's any suggestion the world of man might have something to offer, as Pocahontas adapts to life with the settlers.
Malick (and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) make no secret of which world he finds more compelling. He shoots the woods and rivers of Virginia (actual Virginia - not far from where I live in fact) in beautiful blues and greens, letting yellows and reds in almost exclusively for sunlight. It's beautiful and vivid and alluring. Jamestown settlement, by contrast, is a brown and grey muddy cesspit; a blight upon the Earth. The Naturals, as the settlers call the local Algonquin tribe, live heartily and well in their environment, homes built among the trees. The settlers chop their trees down to make walls and starve and fall sick. Even London, which we see late in the film, is largely grey with the only color being in the opulent palace and on the grounds of the Rolfe (Christian Bale) estate (where the blues and greens return).
The "New World" of the title could refer to many things. Virginia is new to the English settlers. England is new to the Algonquin. But in a broader sense by engaging with each other these peoples are creating yet another new world - one in which they will come into conflict over resources whether their intentions are good or not. Even without the benefit of hindsight The New World is clear that it thinks this is tragic - a spoiling of a pristine wilderness. As Pocahontas dies she whispers "Mother, I know now where you live" and the film returns to the beautiful wilds of Virginia, missing their daughter.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 12/19: Brick
OH SHIT WE FORGOT NOIRVEMBER EDITION
Next week we're taking a look at Star Wars Episode VII director Rian Johnson's first feature film, Brick, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a teenager investigating an ex-girlfriend's disappearance. Brick is available for rent on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 12/20: Mulan
With the release of the popular hit Moana, the podcast is going back to another Disney princess film, 1998's Mulan. We'll have a thread to discuss it on Wednesday. Mulan is available for rent on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NATURE FILMS EDITION
A common thread running through Terrence Malick's work is the contrast between the natural world and the world of man. He doesn't always focus on it, but it's always there - in the derricks among the plains in Badlands or To The Wonder, or the contrast between the steel works and the wheat fields in Days of Heaven.
But it's in The New World that he addresses this theme most directly. It focuses on the meeting of two peoples - one which lives in concert with nature, understands it and can live within it, and one which dominates nature, tries to subdue it and flails when nature does not bend to its whim. Most of the film focuses on John Smith (Colin Farrell) as he struggles with his loyalty to his people and his king, and his desire to abandon them to live in the forest with Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher). It's only after he exits the film that there's any suggestion the world of man might have something to offer, as Pocahontas adapts to life with the settlers.
Malick (and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) make no secret of which world he finds more compelling. He shoots the woods and rivers of Virginia (actual Virginia - not far from where I live in fact) in beautiful blues and greens, letting yellows and reds in almost exclusively for sunlight. It's beautiful and vivid and alluring. Jamestown settlement, by contrast, is a brown and grey muddy cesspit; a blight upon the Earth. The Naturals, as the settlers call the local Algonquin tribe, live heartily and well in their environment, homes built among the trees. The settlers chop their trees down to make walls and starve and fall sick. Even London, which we see late in the film, is largely grey with the only color being in the opulent palace and on the grounds of the Rolfe (Christian Bale) estate (where the blues and greens return).
The "New World" of the title could refer to many things. Virginia is new to the English settlers. England is new to the Algonquin. But in a broader sense by engaging with each other these peoples are creating yet another new world - one in which they will come into conflict over resources whether their intentions are good or not. Even without the benefit of hindsight The New World is clear that it thinks this is tragic - a spoiling of a pristine wilderness. As Pocahontas dies she whispers "Mother, I know now where you live" and the film returns to the beautiful wilds of Virginia, missing their daughter.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 12/19: Brick
OH SHIT WE FORGOT NOIRVEMBER EDITION
Next week we're taking a look at Star Wars Episode VII director Rian Johnson's first feature film, Brick, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a teenager investigating an ex-girlfriend's disappearance. Brick is available for rent on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 12/20: Mulan
With the release of the popular hit Moana, the podcast is going back to another Disney princess film, 1998's Mulan. We'll have a thread to discuss it on Wednesday. Mulan is available for rent on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members.