Taglines: a new land…a new hope…a new dream.
The Emigrants movie storyline. It’s the mid-nineteenth century in the rural parish of Ljuder, located in Småland, Sweden. Young married couple Karl Oskar and Kristina are owner farmers, who, along with their neighbors have been having a difficult time of late because of lack of rain and poor soil, which has resulted in disastrous crops for several years. They can’t feed themselves or their livestock. Kristina is despondent as they have several children, Kristina always seeming to be pregnant, and she doesn’t see their lives ever getting any better. She is always praying to God for some redemption.
Karl Oskar’s younger brother, Robert, works as a farmhand for Aron. A romantic at heart, Robert lives in miserable conditions and is treated poorly by sadistic Aron. They don’t see their lot in life getting any better in part because of the rigid class system in place. Even Kristina’s uncle, Danjel, a highly devout man, is not allowed to spread the word of God, as that is solely the job of the wealthy ordained, which in his class Danjel will never become.
Because of what Robert has read of America and because they have neighbors with relations who have already moved, Karl Oskar is eventually able to persuade Kristina to emigrate to pursue a better life, they not knowing that Robert was planning on running away to America anyway. Many of their neighbors and relations also decide to make the same journey, specifically planning on moving to Minnesota where they already know people. For those among them that survive the difficult journey, they will find that America may not be quite what they were expecting. In addition, some among their party may have ideas different than what was originally envisioned for the group as a collective.
The Emigrants (Swedish: Utvandrarna) is a 1971 Swedish film directed by Jan Troell and starring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg and Allan Edwall. The screenplay is by Bengt Forslund and Troell. It tells the story of poor Swedes who emigrate from Småland, Sweden, to Minnesota in the mid-19th century. The film depicts hardships in Sweden and on the journey and is based on the first two novels of The Emigrants series by Vilhelm Moberg — The Emigrants (1949) and Unto a Good Land (1952).
The Emigrants won international acclaim, and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1971. It was nominated for four more Oscars the following year, including for Best Picture. It is followed by a 1972 sequel, The New Land (Nybyggarna), with the same cast. The 1974 U.S. television series The New Land is based loosely on both The Emigrants and its sequel.
The film was released to cinemas in Sweden on 8 March 1971. The film opened in New York City on 24 September 1972, distributed by Warner Bros. The U.S. version was cut from 190 to 150 minutes. In the U.S., the film was not released on home video until February 2016, when The Criterion Collection released it on Blu-ray with The New Land. The films were frequently requested by customers. The Emigrants was featured in the 2016 Gothenburg Film Festival.
The Emigrants (1972)
Directed by: Jan Troell
Starring: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Ulla Smidje, Pierre Lindstedt, Monica Zetterlund, Eva-Lena Zetterlund, Agneta Prytz, Gustaf Färingborg, Allan Edwall, Aina Alfredsson
Screenplay by: Jan Troell, Bengt Forslund
Cinematography by: Jan Troell
Film Editing by: Jan Troell
Costume Design by: Ulla-Britt Söderlund
Art Direction by: P.A. Lundgren
Makeup Department: Cecilia Drott, Bengt Ottekil, Rose-Marie Ström
Music by: Erik Nordgren
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. (United States)
Release Date: March 8, 1971 (Sweden), September 24, 1972 (United States)
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