Sweet Land

A recent movie I've seen better expresses the sadness of immigration and the meaning of land than anything I've ever seen: Sweet Land.

This is about a mail-order bride from Norway, who arrives in early twentieth-century Minnesota to meet her husband, a Norwegian immigrant farmer.

Olaf picks up Inge at the train station, and like so many other young couples right after World War 1, they head straight for the chapel. But as they are getting married - having spoken only a few words with each other - the young bride is found wanting. Inge is a German, not a Norwegian.

And we (Norway and the US alike) are at war with Germany. Worse, she is a member of the Socialist party.

Sweet Land tells the story of this young couple, as they build an international love in a land strange to both of them. It is a story of making a home.

The 1920 plot is set as a flashback; the surrounding story takes place today, after Inge's death at an old age. Her grandson Lars - an entirely assimilated American - has to make a decision about his land. It's worth millions of dollars as a suburban subdivision. How should Lars honor Inge and Olaf with this land, this home?

I was enchanted for days after seeing the film. Unfortunately, it's on the film-festival circuit, and is not slated for broader release. I emailed Ali Selim, the filmmaker, who replied that the DVD might be out by Christmas. Sigh. Until then, if you're interested in the story, it's loosely based on a short story by Will Weaver called A Gravestone Made of Wheat. The story is slightly different than the movie, but equally moving.