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Elizabeth Reaser, Tim Guinee, Alan Cumming, Lois Smith, Ned Beatty ... see more see more... , John Heard , Alex Kingston , Patrick Heusinger , Paul Sand , Stephen Pelinski , Jodie Markell , Tom Gilroy , Sage Kermes , Robert Hogan

A European exile finds herself a stranger in a strange land when she comes to the United States in this independent romantic comedy-drama. As a man ponders what to do with his family's estate after th... read more read more...e death of his grandmother, he thinks back to how she first came to America shortly after World War I. Olaf (Tim Guinee) is a Norwegian-American farmer looking for a wife to share his home on the Minnesota prairie, and with eligible women in short supply locally, he sends away for a mail-order bride. Inge Ottenberg (Elizabeth Reaser) soon arrives at Olaf's doorstep, but while she's pretty, smart, and amiable, he's taken aback to discover she's not Norwegian but German, which after several years of anti-German propaganda does not make her popular with her new neighbors. Inge isn't very good with English, making it even harder to keep her background a secret, and the local pastor, Rev. Sorrensen (John Heard), is so outraged at the presence of a presumed Hun he refuses to perform their wedding. But Inge struggles to make friends with her new neighbors, in particular Olaf's best friend, Frandsen (Alan Cumming), a gadget fancier whose wife, Brownie (Alex Kingston), is better with mechanical items than he is. In time, Inge's cheerful nature and love of music begin to make an impression on the community as she shares her favorite tunes on her ever-present gramophone. Sweet Land was the first feature film from writer and director Ali Selim. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

81% liked it

6,244 ratings

Critics

84% liked it

70 critics

PG, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Ali Selim

Release Date: October 13, 2006

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DVD Release Date: July 10, 2007

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Stats: 628 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (628)

  • itsjustme2004
    October 14, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    What a nice movie! This is a perfect example of the kind of movie that I am always searching for. One of those little gems that I can curl up on the couch and let myself be carried away by. I just loved everything about it. I originally found it by searching for movies that Eliza... read morebeth Reaser was in. I really like the roles she chooses. I am so happy that I stumbled across this wonderful movie.
  • dreamfaeries
    September 24, 2008
    dreamfaeries
    Really good movie.
  • gator681
    January 26, 2008
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Sweet Land," Inge(Elizabeth Reaser) arrives in Minnesota in 1920 from Europe with a suitcase and a phonograph, hardly speaking any English. After a long wait at the train station, her fiance, Olaf(Tim Guinee), and his friend, Frandsen(Alan Cumming), pick... read more her up but at the church, the minister(John Heard) is shocked to hear that Inge is German, refusing to marry them.(There being a great deal of anti-German prejudice in the wake of World War I and her membership in the Socialist Party does not help.) Frandsen's wife's(Alex Kingston) cousin(Ned Beatty), a banker, cannot help and the local official says that only proper documentation will suffice.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Sweet Land" is a charming and luminous movie with a good cast but sadly the climax is both predictable and contrived. The movie's structure is rather intriguing as its framing sequence is set in not one time period, but two; the 1960's where Inge's husband has died and the present day where Inge's grandson, Lars, now middle-aged considers selling the family land. These two settings set up the major themes of the movie, love and the importance of land, perfectly.(A common refrain is "farming and banking don't go together.") This is love not just in a romantic sense but for all of humanity and all nationalities.(At one point in the past, everybody in this country had an ancestor who came here from somewhere else.) The main setting, the 1920's, is an age of progress(which sadly does not include birth control) for the farmers but also one of economic turbulence. [/font]
  • crazydannielle16
    November 1, 2007
    crazydannielle16
    Very tender, moving, SWEET movie!!!
  • wbgoose13
    November 7, 2006
    wbgoose13
    Slow, quaint, nice - and not as boring as that may imply.
  • bcavros
    August 3, 2011
    bcavros
    It really does an excellent job of drawing you into the period of the 40's heartwarming story. A very slow paced movie that takes draws you into the life of a women who to escape Germany in the 40's, agrees to marry a family acquaintance in rural Minnesota.

    The whole movie res... read moret on Elizabeth Reaser as the audience's point of access and pivotal role in the movie (and by the way she does not speak English and none of the farmers speak German including her husband-to-be). She is excellent at conveying her emotions and frustration as an intelligent woman who is trapped by her lack of effective communication and the prejudices of German Americans during WWII. Highly recommended for 3rd generations immigrants who have only heard their grandparents story.
  • envel2
    August 24, 2008
    envel2
    Okay overall, but the story line moved pretty slow and jumped from present time to past too much.
  • catlyst
    December 25, 2011
    catlyst
    a poignant sugary tale about overcoming boundaries: continental, linguistic, cultural, sociopolitical, and personal. and simply staying firm and rooted into the abundant land, worked hard on by the whole (small) community. the start of the movie is really quite sweet and i only w... read moreish i understood some norwegian and german. cummings who coproduced the movie injects warm humour throughout -- vital for the slower stoic moments.
  • amonavis
    July 10, 2011
    amonavis
    The acting was strong and the scenes shot on the farm, with the wheat fields and farm house as background, are impressive. The story didn't hold my attention the whole way through, though. Wish it was a little more compact and concise.
  • MovieSnob
    August 27, 2010
    MovieSnob
    This was a really cute movie that I felt could have done a lot more to address all the very serious theme of prejudice, discrimination and immigration.

View All Sweet Land Reviews

Critic Reviews

Terry Lawson
February 2, 2007
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

A film of uncommon grace, one that transports you to an America that seems innately familiar even though you have never seen it depicted on-screen quite like this before. Full Review

Tom Long
February 2, 2007
Tom Long, Detroit News

As opposed to the bulk of low-budget films, the look here is lush and beautifully crafted; even the make-up is excellent. Full Review

Roger Moore
January 26, 2007
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Terrific acting, a perfectly captured period setting, and a simple, aching farm courtship, that's all Sweet Land is. Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
January 18, 2007
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sweet and low-key, Sweet Land is a movie that likely will leave you wishing you liked it more. Full Review

Ruthe Stein
December 15, 2006
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle

Sweet Land is an unusual look at love and how it can unexpectedly develop. Those for whom the concept of an arranged marriage is foreign will get a little history lesson on the immigrant experience wa... Full Review

Richard Roeper
December 4, 2006
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

It's beautiful. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
November 21, 2006
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

As Sweet Land demonstrates, bigotry is vulnerable, and love is universal. Sweet Land is a fervent movie poem to that love -- and to family, land, lost times and old beginnings. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
November 16, 2006
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

... a beautifully photographed film ... that celebrates its regional identity. Full Review

Wesley Morris
November 3, 2006
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

A lovely, old-fashioned farm romance quietly doubling as a comment on immigration and American identity. Full Review

Annemarie Moody
October 26, 2006
Annemarie Moody, Arizona Republic

A spare yet meaningful script, subtly deep performances and a starkly beautiful landscape combine in Sweet Land to tell a love story that is as much about the land as it is about two people. Full Review

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    • Inge Ottenberg: Let us hope that we are all preceded in this world by a love story.
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  • This is a sweet cartoon about a mermaid who longs to be part of the world of a prince, who lives on the land. Her name is Ariel. What's the movie's name?   Answer »
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