Every Terrence Malick Movie Ranked Worst To Best

6. The New World (2005)

Song To Song
New Line Cinema

Despite releasing his debut back in 1973, The New World was only Malick's fourth film, and it found the director cementing his place as one of cinema's most exciting and boldest creators. An historical romance that tells the story of the founding of the Jamestown, it's at once a tragic love story and enveloping look at America's past.

Starring Colin Farrell as English explorer John Smith, the film's primary plot is all about his brief romance with Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher), but soon shifts focus to the turbulent conflict between the native Powhatan Tribe and the English settlers who have encroached on their land.

Dampened - as most historical epics are - by its dubious accuracy and forced sentimentality, The New World overcomes its narrative flaws with some of the most awe-inspiring scenes of Malick's career. It's simply extraordinary to look at, and with his images Malick created a movie that's engrossingly poetic and hard to forget.

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