The New Land movie storyline. The continuing saga of the Nilssons – husband and wife Karl-Oskar and Kristina, their several young children with another on the way, Karl-Oskar’s younger brother Robert, and some of their extended family members such as Kristina’s Uncle Danjel – and several of their Swedish compatriots is presented.
This phase of their story begins where their saga in Utvandrarna (1971) left off, in the fall of 1850, having just arrived in Minnesota from their native Sweden to begin what they hope will be a better life. They left Sweden because of the harsh and worsening conditions of their farm life, and chose Minnesota based on the stories of many of their Swedish friends who emigrated there before them.
While Karl-Oskar goes through the process of setting up their homestead, eighteen year old Robert already has bigger dreams of striking it big in the California gold rush, something he is reluctant to tell Karl-Oskar until he is ready to leave if only having been under Karl-Oskar’s guardianship and Karl-Oskar perhaps thinking him too young, impulsive and thus foolish.
His plan is to go with his best friend Arvid, the two of them who would take the steamship down the river to St. Louis, from where they would walk the rest of the way. Also reluctant to say anything is Kristina, who can’t help believe they made a mistake in leaving Sweden and their known life.
Karl-Oskar and Kristina go through a series of highs and lows in their new life, some related specifically to being in Minnesota at this point in time, such as dealing with Indians and the imminent Civil War, and not knowing the language, and some related to their general life regardless of location, including Kristina’s feeling of her role in the family. Robert’s California tale is also told, he who returns back to Minnesota with a bagful of money four years after leaving, but who looks a little worse for wear.
The New Land (Swedish: Nybyggarna) is a 1972 Swedish film co-written and directed by Jan Troell and starring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann and Eddie Axberg. It is a sequel to Troell’s The Emigrants (1971); both are based on The Emigrants novels by Vilhelm Moberg. Drawing its story from the last two of these novels — The Settlers (1956) and The Last Letter Home (1959) — the film is about Swedish immigrants establishing their home in Minnesota, including during the Dakota War of 1862. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It and The Emigrants are the basis for the 1974 American television series The New Land.
About the Story
Karl Oskar, his wife Kristina and their three children, along with Karl Oskar’s brother Robert and Robert’s friend Arvid, have arrived in Lake Ki Chi Saga from Sweden. Taking shelter in a shanty, Karl Oskar pours all their resources into building them a house before winter arrives. He begins clearing the land of the tall pine trees, and with the help of Robert, Arvid and some of their Swedish neighbors, construct a small farmhouse.
Once the farmhouse is completed, Karl Oskar and Kristina invite their fellow Swedish settlers over for dinner, including Kristina’s Uncle Danjel and Ulrika, who has become a very close friend of the family. After dinner, they discuss if they regret emigrating. Later that night, Karl Oskar tries to console Kristina and shows her something he had kept from when they had left Sweden- a shoe that had belonged to Anna, their eldest daughter who had died in Sweden. He tells her that it helps him to remember their home, which comforts her slightly.
Not long afterwards, Kristina gives birth to a son, Danjel, named after her uncle. Robert, meanwhile, tells Arvid that he plans to head west to California to dig for gold, and asks Arvid to come with him. They head west, only to have their adventure plagued by a series of misfortunes. The two become lost in the desert, where Arvid dies from drinking tainted water. Robert is rescued by a Hispanic cattle driver, who brings him to a village in the Sierra Nevada. While there, Robert comes to possess a small fortune, only to have it swindled from him by another Swede. He returns to Minnesota, where after meeting again with Karl Oskar and Kristina, dies from a fever he contracted while out west.
The New Land (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: February 26, 1972 (Sweden), October 26, 1973 (United States)
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