Malick's latest

I went to see The New World last night. Terrence Malick makes few movies, and they're worth the wait. His last film The Thin Red Line is one of my favourite films, and one that I think I'll enjoy for years to come. This new one is definitely `vintage Malick', if such a term can be used. Sunlight through trees, birds flying, lingering landscape, and grass. Lots of grass. I went to this film with great expectation and it delivered on many levels, but it's not his best. The cinematography is marvellous. John Horner's score works quite well - perhaps a little `forced' and not as free-flowing as Hans Zimmer's work on TTRL.
Terrence Malick seems extra self-indulgent here - especially with his `people' shots. Arms. Hands. Shots from below. The close-up scenes of the key characters dancing in the forest are many, and one is required to suspend most belief, resisting the need to dwell on details and practicalities.

Malick seems to work on a different tune when film-making. A pretentious and cliched "I made this film for me" sentiment is perhaps in effect with much of his work, yet he draws me in deeply. He can linger, and invites us to linger, and be enriched enormously in the process. Whether there is a satisfying conclusion to this lingering is a decision to be made by the audience.