Karl and Kristina Nilsson work on a farm in a cold and desolate area of 19th century rural Sweden. Growing privations, combined with increasing social and religious persecution, motivate the Nilssons and many of their neighbors to strike out for the United States. Following a treacherous ocean crossing and an equally grueling land passage, the emigrants find themselves in seemingly idyllic Minnesota.
Cinematography
Natural light so brutal you feel the Swedish winter in your bones.
Acting
Von Sydow and Ullmann carry decades of marriage in silent glances.
Direction
Troell makes hardship cinematic without romanticizing a single second.
Director
Jan Troell
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot simultaneously with sequel 'The New Land'—Ullmann and von Sydow lived in character for nearly a year.
Based on Vilhelm Moberg's novels that reshaped Swedish emigrant identity; nearly every Swedish-American family claims descent from these pages.
SE
