14. THE NEW WORLD
 
United States
dir. Terrence Malick
world premiere 2005
U.S. release 2005
 

 
Because it's a great subject for Malick, a marvelous if massively unrecouped use for New Line's sudden bankroll, and a tale that despite endless retellings has never quite felt like this: from the scuffed, rude, and suffering Virginians to the visually striking but evenly personified Indians to the diamantine rhapsodies of the grass, water, light, and sky. Just when you think the film is ending, in England, it comes alive in a new way.