This is How Movies Should Be Made

disgusting, overrated, pointless

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

In 2016 after years of waiting, Criterion Collection has released this two-part epic in Blu-Ray and standard DVD. For fullest effect, the two segments should be played as in the original, theatrical release: "The Emigrants" entirely in Swedish (with English subtitles), "The New Land" in English. It is in itself quite an achievement that the cast of both is virtually identical yet are competent in the new and old languages. Scandinavian immigrants to the Minnesota Territory in the 1850's--before the US Civil War-- found conditions both familiar and alien. The cold climate was like their native land but the soil of the New World was more fertile and not so stony. It was a place of open spaces and vast pine forests, few towns and no cities to compare with Stockholm or Oslo.In the story, friendships are tested, some broken over issues of religion. Family life isn't always smooth or predictable. There are generational conflicts. Historical events are alluded to such as the Civil War or depicted, if briefly, like the 1862 uprising of the Eastern Sioux, starving on their Minnesota reservation, with deadly attacks on surrounding settlements until put down by the US Army. Yet the Indian side of the conflict is given play, also, with the emigrants coming to understand that The New Land had belonged to others before them.

Before you read this, you should read my comment for "Utvandrarna" ("The emigrants"). You should also watch the first movie before you watch this one. But let's start with this comment now, shall we? This movie is based on two novels by Vilhelm Moberg: "Nybyggarna" ("The new settlers") and "Sista brevet till Sverige" ("The last letter to Sweden"). The emigrants from Småland in Sweden have now settled down in Minnesota in America. This movie starts in the 1850s and end in the 1890s. Kristina never really adjusts to her new home in America and always misses her beloved Sweden. Her husband Karl Oskar on the other hand has no regrets. After all, aren't they richer now than anybody they knew in Sweden, and aren't their children going to have a better life now? Kristina's uncle Danjel and his family can't have any regrets either. After all, they don't have to fear the prosecution from the Church of Sweden anymore. Robert and Arvid go to California to join the Gold rush. But things don't turn out as good as they would liked too... But no character from the previous movie becomes as rich and successful as the former prostitute Ulrika. And the saga can continue...

This is an important movie historically, though many will also find it very slow going and a bit boring. While this IS true, the life of the average immigrant of this time was ALSO quite boring, so to keep the movie as an accurate representation of the Swedish-American experience, it is awfully low-key to say the least. The acting, like the average Swedish immigrant, is very restrained and understated. Again, they were seeking absolute realism and got it. However, while I generally enjoyed this SLOW tale, I found the part when von Sydow's brother returned to be very poorly executed. Instead of a narrative, it was shown through cloudy dreams and confusing snippets--and TOTALLY derailed the movie until this segment was completed. I really can't understand why they chose to change the pacing, focus and perspective of the film so abruptly. Well, fortunately, after this brother dies, the film gets back on track. Not a great film, as it's too slow to interest all but the biggest historians and cinephiles and the segment with the brother just didn't ring true. However, its importance as a realistic portrayal of the immigrant experience is great.

The New Land is a sequel to the 1971 Swedish film, The Emigrants. Karl Oskar and Kristina begin their new life in Minnesota. It is not easy in America. The immigrants clear the land and build cabins. We see in Kristina's face that she misses Sweden. Kristina and the prostitute, Ulrika, are friends now. Ulrika models her new hat. Robert and Arvid set off to dig for gold in California. Liv Ullmann as Kristina is beautiful, her long golden hair down on her shoulders. More Swedes arrive in Minnesota. Karl Oskar plows his fields. Robert returns a broken man. The Civil War is fought. Indians threaten. Kristina finally pines away in the new land. Karl Oskar lives out his life. The sense of mission in the first film gives way to the drama of everyday life.