how it has spiritual meaning; how the people have no feelings of possessiveness or jealousy. He also falls in love with the girl, who reciprocates his feelings.

There are some irritating things about the movie: the unnecessary voiceover narration; the way Farrell’s accent goes from broad Dub to wayward West Country; the way the last section is hurried through. No matter, really, because there’s so much else to admire. The cinematography, by Emmanuel Lubezki, is shot beautifully, in the area of Virginia where the historical events the film is based on took place. James Horner’s score is unobtrusive and sublime. Much of the acting is superb, not least by the fourteen-year-old Kilcher, whose role becomes the central one in the film. She is asked to personify the whole continent of North America on the cusp of its most turbulent period of change. Remarkably, she manages to pull it off.

Filmmaking has often been classed as an artform, but it is rare that you get a piece of work as sublime, as image-filled, as allegorical and as beautiful as this one. Admittedly, it is not a fashionable film, made specifically for our time-is-precious era. Critics are split between lovers and haters, particularly in the States, where its iconoclastic view of the behaviour of the first settlers on arriving in what is now the United States irritated many in the Republican camp. Let them hate it. It’s only January, but if you appreciate this sort of thing you’re unlikely to see a better film all year. DL