I took my dad to see Malick's The New World today. I'm already trying to figure out when I can go see it again before it leaves the theaters. It's a beautiful film.

Malick's way of telling a story is just as far removed from the "serious" dialog driven films as it is from flashy, fast paced action films. His films tell their stories through image and through time. What dialog exists is minimalistic -- the most meaningful words of his films are delivered in meditative voice overs, which speak from the inner thoughts of the characters.

Some people are challenged by it, or frustrated, because of the lack of action and the lack of dialog. But I wonder if the same people grow impatient when sitting in the woods and contemplating the life around them, or even by laying in a hammock and watching the clouds pass. The movie is something like that, something between laying in a field and just being aware of all that's around you and sitting in a museum in front of your favorite painting, considering it, meditating on it for a few sweet hours.

Take some time while The New World is still in the theaters -- take some time to be quiet and just watch. Forget thinking, forget figuring out meaning -- just be present to the film. You'll find yourself richly rewarded.