# Nybyggarna (1972)

### reviewed by
Brian Koller

    The New Land (1972)

    Grade: 74/100

"The Emigrants" and "The New Land" were two of the most ambitious and (at the time of production) expensive films to come from Sweden. They both have outstanding cinematography, which is used more often than narration and dialogue to tell the story. The films were aided by a strong cast, and had intelligent (if slow-paced) direction by Jan Troell.

"The Emigrants" told the story of a mid-19th century Swedish family, that emigrates to America in search of rich farmland and religious freedom. It was nominated for several major Academy Awards in the U.S., including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. This attention from Oscar was highly unusual for a foreign language film.

The film's sequel was "The New Land". As was the case with "The Emigrants", it was filmed in Sweden in Swedish, with a version dubbed in English by the actors themselves for American distribution. The original cast returns, and the story picks up where it had left off.

Stolid Karl Oskar Nilsson (Max Von Sydow) and his gentle wife Kristina (Liv Ullmann) arrive in Minnesota in the year 1850. Through persistence and hard work, they build a successful homestead and farm. Karl's younger brother Robert (Eddie Axberg) soon leaves for the gold mines of California, taking with him oafish field hand Arvid (Pierre Lindstedt).

As the years pass, more children are born, threatening the health of Kristina. A local Indian tribe, harried and starving, becomes a threat to the growing ethnic Swedish community. When the Civil War breaks out, Karl must choose between patriotism and pacifism.

"The New Land" has beautiful and varied cinematography. Deserts, forests, and farmlands are shown under different seasons. However, there are some harrowing scenes of death that may preclude viewing by young children. Those with short attention spans may lose interest in the slowly paced film. But sticking with the affecting story will be rewarded.

Linn Ullmann, the daughter of Liv Ullmann and legendary director Ingmar Bergman, has a small role as one of Kristina's children.

Jan Troell not only directed the film, but was the cinematographer, editor, and co-writer. Collaborating on the script was Bengt Forslund, who was the film's producer. The story was based on Vilhelm Moberg's novel "The Emigrants".

I suspect that "The Emigrants" and "The New Land" were two parts of the same production, and were separated due to the five hour running time of the combined films. When first shown on American television, the films were merged and edited into chronological order as "The Immigrant Saga".

briankoller@usa.net http://www.epinions.com/user-briankoller http://elvisfan.simplenet.com/movies/movies.html

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