Review: The New Land (1972)

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The New Land

Rating

Director

Jan Troell

Screenplay

Jan Troell, Bengt Forslund, Jan Troell (Novel: Vilhelm Moberg)

Length

3h 22m

Starring

Max Von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Pierre Lindstedt, Allan Edwall, Monica Zetterlund, Hans Alfredson, Agneta Prytz, Halvar Bjork

MPAA Rating

Review

When the Swedish settled in Minnesota during the gold rush era, the language barrier wasn’t all that stood in the way of success. “The New Land” explores the relationships of one Swedish family as it faces life and death in the wilderness of 19th century America.

Jan Troell shifts gears from his Oscar-winning “Emigrants” to a tale of immigrants. “The New Land” tells the story of religious Swedish gentleman Karl-Oskar (Max von Sydow), his pregnant wife Kristina (Liv Ullmann) and his impetuous brother Robert (Eddie Alberg) as they face a new way of living.

“Land” is an epic poem of self-sacrifice and insurmountable idealism in the face of overwhelming odds. The family lives by a lake in the wilderness of Minnesota where their only neighbors are other Swedish immigrants and stereotypical Indians.

Produced by the legendary Svensk Filmindustri, whose master director Ingmar Bergman forged a new era in filmmaking, Troell managed to make his name known with his accomplishment “The Emigrants,” one of the few foreign-language films ever nominated for Best Picture. That same year, “The New Land” managed to capture another foreign film nomination for the burgeoning director.

Svensk veterans von Sydow and Ullmann lead a fine ensemble. Von Sydow is wonderful as the unyielding patriarch with large goals and even larger ideals. His counterpart, Liv Ullmann, is even more brilliant as the untrusting, embattled wife whose fears are both allayed and confirmed. The rest of the cast works well in an ensemble, but are easily eclipsed by the two leads.

“Land” remains pretty standard through the first hour and into the second where it takes on a sometimes-surreal tone with a gold rush montage and a seemingly pointless Indian massacre. Style aside, there are many ideas raised about the difficulties of living in the American wilderness. It wasn’t easy for American settlers to move west and survive, but it was more difficult for foreign-speaking families who had to break the language, cultural and religious barriers.

It’s not hard to see what side Troell is fighting on. He stays faithful to his countrymen while chastising their ethnocentrism and religious solidarity. There are plenty of things to like about “The New Land” and if it weren’t for the pessimistic view of Native Americans, the film would be nearly flawless. The cast could have been stronger and the film could have been shorter, but for such an ambitious film, “Land” is certainly worth the time.

“The New Land” is dubbed in English, which will appeal to a larger audience. However, some will feel cheated that they can’t enjoy the lyricism of the Swedish language or the unadulterated nature of a foreign film with subtitles.