Sweet Land (2005)

84% of critics liked it
(70 reviews)
82% of users liked it
(6,157 ratings)

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 the death of his grandmother, he thinks back to how she first came to America shortly after World War… More 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 the 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

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Ali Selim
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Oct 13, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Jul 10, 2007
Studio: Libero LLC

Critic Reviews

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.
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.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Terrific acting, a perfectly captured period setting, and a simple, aching farm courtship, that's all Sweet Land is.
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.
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 watching this sweetly engrossing film.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's beautiful.
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com
Exceptionally photographed and remarkably performed by actors Tim Guinee and Elizabeth Reaser, Sweet Land is modest, but demonstrative, eager to detail a love story that sustains for a lifetime.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
At once epic and intimate, Sweet Land offers a stirring account of love and hardship which, aside from a muffed Capra moment towards the end, hardly puts a foot wrong.
Martin Hoyle, Financial Times
Nostalgic, gentle, loving: the elegiac mood set against endless rural space inevitably suggests Malick's Days of Heaven. What next from this considerable talent?
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
Our movie of the week - which isn't saying much - arrives in the shape of this atmospheric slice of Americana about an arranged marriage deep in the heart of rural Minnesota.
Mike McCahill, Daily Telegraph
Pleasant surprise of the week, a US indie so unashamedly romantic about pie, cornfields, family and baseball you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a Presidential campaign video.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Here is a nicely photographed, but bland, insipid and weirdly passive-aggressive little film.
James Christopher, Times [UK]
Minnesota between the wars is a bone yard for dreams, yet, like Babette's Feast, the film plucks a tiny miracle from stony ground.
Daniel Etherington, Film4
Sweet Land could have been mawkish and overly sentimental, but Selim has a light touch and the film is intelligent, sensitive and sweet.
David Jenkins, Time Out
Echoing Malick's 'Days of Heaven' in the way it captures the majesty of the American countryside, this is a small gem that's worth seeking out.
Bill Gibron, DVD Verdict
Successfully shaking off some of the rougher bits brought on at the beginning, Sweet Land turns out to be a nice little outsider diversion.
Danny Minton, Beaumont Journal
This sweet little love story was one of my favorite films from last year.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
Sweet Land is brave and touchingly executed cinematic storytelling that explores the lives of these immigrants with extraordinary insight.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
The son of an Egyptian immigrant, the Minnesota born Selim demonstrates a startling intimacy and empathy for his characters, but infuses his story with a candid tough love for their weaknesses.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
There are too many people involved in the commentary track, but it's thoughtful and sincere.

Read all 22 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

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 Elizabeth… More
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 Elizabeth Reaser was in. I really like the roles she chooses. I am so happy that I stumbled across this wonderful movie.
Leigh R

Really good movie.
Walter M

[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),… More
[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 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]
Dannielle A

Very tender, moving, SWEET movie!!!
William G

Slow, quaint, nice - and not as boring as that may imply.
Bill C

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… More
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 rest 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.
Nikki M

Okay overall, but the story line moved pretty slow and jumped from present time to past too much.