Sweet Land
Director: Ali Selem
Country: USA
Release: 2005
“Sweet Land” is a tender and affectionate portrait of one immigrant couple in early 1900’s America. Olaf is a Norwegian who has been in the country for some time, and has homesteaded a farm in Minnesota. Shortly after WWI, he is joined by Inga who has come to be his wife, although they have never met and she does not speak English. Immediately they go to the preacher to be married. However, it comes to light that although she came here from Norway, Inga is actually an orphan of German nationality, and the preacher refuses to marry them unless she can obtain the proper papers. The county clerk similarly refuses to issue her papers. They base their refusals on the fact that Inga’s undocumented status does not allow them to verify her background or character – but the real reason is that America just finished a war against Germany and, frankly, she just is not one of “them”. At first Inga is sent to live with Olaf’s best friend and his wife. But with 9 children plus them in the house, privacy and sanity is at a minimum, and Inga quickly insinuates herself into Olaf’s house, forcing him to sleep in the barn. Despite a rocky start based on their awkward unfamiliarity with each other and differences in dispositions (she is too fun-loving and he is too serious), they spend the year in close companionship, striving hard together towards the common goals of working the land, keeping their farm afloat and gaining acceptance among their community. As they face the challenges of their life together (fairly ordinary and uneventful challenges for those times) a real bond and genuine love and affection grows between them. The movie is mostly set in the time of their first year together, but also jumps to the 1960’s at the time of Olaf’s death and interment, and then to 2004 at the time of Inga’s passing, when their grandson Lars is faced with the responsibility of deciding the disposition of the family farm. Viewers who like a lot of action in a movie may find this too slow. I think it would be a great story for young children who grew up in an internet, computer, cable TV, cell phone, ipod, ipad world – to see and know that less than 100 years ago, many people in this country worked so hard to farm the land by hand, without even a tractor to assist them; and did so happily and determinedly without complaint or reservation. “Sweet Land” is also a fine example of the kind of quiet, lyrical and unassuming movie option that independent filmmakers can provide as an interesting alternative to mainstream Hollywood offerings.
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