The New Land (1972)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

The second half of Jan Tröll's huge epic film goes beyond the expectations of even those who recognize the greatness of the first part (THE EMIGRANTS). This is a film that attempts to show most of an entire life, and it succeeds. While specific in the period, setting and character backgrounds, it's ultimately a universal experience. We see the great struggle of human existence played out against hardship, joy, horror and tragedy. All of it told through acting, directing and a poetic visual style that drive home the themes, and haunt the memory long afterward. The cast is headed by two of Ingmar Bergman's best-known and lauded stars (Liv Ullman and Max von Sydow, as Kristina and Karl Oscar) along with an astonishing young actor, Eddie Axberg, as Robert.Great moments come and go, sometimes lingering on the screen, sometimes gone in a flash. Tröll spares the viewer nothing as far as life's harsh realities go. He takes chances too. Midway through THE NEW LAND, we are shown a lengthy flashback of Robert's harrowing ordeal when he and a friend leave Minnesota to find gold in California. Things go terribly wrong, and the sequence can resemble the writing of Cormac McCarthy in its grim poetry--told mostly without dialog and a percussion-only score. Not many directors would have risked it, but he sequence adds immeasurably to Robert's tragic character. In the end, this is Karl Oscar's story, with Max von Sydow in what could be his greatest role. All the wonder and sadness of life is in his performance, and up there on the screen. This is a great film by any standard.

This is an extraordinary film, which I gave 10 out of 10 even if Warner Brothers, the film's theatrical distributor, cut the film in half for its American release. If ever this film (and its predecessor, "The Emigrants") makes it to DVD, I sincerely hope those 102 minutes are restored, so that I can at last see the film that Jan Troell intended for me to see.As it looks on video, "The New Land" is still magnificent - its depiction of Swedish immigrants settling in frontier Minnesota outdoing every Western ever made. Be sure to look for the scene that George Lucas stole wholesale where Max von Sydow slaughters an ox and places his freezing son inside it during a snowstorm.

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.