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Apr 23, 2024 · 591 subscribers. 7K views 1 month ago. The story of an endangered Newfoundland community and the struggles of one man determined to resist its extinction. In select Canadian theatres starting May...
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Jul 31, 2008 · Sweet Land: Directed by Ali Selim. With Elizabeth Reaser, Lois Smith, Patrick Heusinger, Stephen Pelinski. In 1920, Inge, a German national, travels from Norway to rural Minnesota for her arranged marriage to Olaf, a Norwegian farmer; bureaucracy and prejudice cause major complications.
- (4.2K)
- Drama, Romance
- Ali Selim
- 2008-07-31
- Plot
- Production
- Distribution
- Reception
- Musical Adaptation
- External Links
In the aftermath of World War I, Inge Altenberg, an orphan from Snåsa, Norway, arrives in America to a very cold reception. The parents of immigrant farmer Olaf Torvik remain in Norway, where they met her. Dialogue reveals that the four of them have worked out an agreement that allowed her to emigrate to America for the purpose of marrying Olaf. Th...
Early development
Director Ali Selim first read Will Weaver's short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat" in 1989 in the Sunday magazine of the Star Tribune, a Minneapolis newspaper. After purchasing the film rights, he spent much of the 1990s working on a script in his spare time as he worked as a director of television commercials. Two early supporters of the project were actors Alan Cumming, who played Frandsen, and Gil Bellows, who signed on as a co-producer. Selim met Cumming while screening a short film in...
Casting
Dan Futterman, whom Selim also had directed in commercials, was originally cast as Olaf but had to drop out when his film Capote went into production. Futterman suggested Tim Guineeas his replacement. The role of Frandsen, a character that does not appear in the short story, was written for Alan Cumming. Alex Kingstonwas a friend of Cumming's from their early days in London. Elizabeth Reasersigned on after another actress dropped out because of a scheduling conflict. Reaser initially balked a...
Filming
Sweet Land was filmed in 24 days in October 2004 in and around Montevideo, a city in Chippewa County, Minnesota.Reaser does not speak German and had to learn her lines phonetically despite only four sessions with a dialogue coach. The film uses some computer-generated graphics: The northern lights in the scene where Inge walks through the fields to Olaf's house to take a bath (the scene was actually filmed in the daytime), and, later in the film, the geese flying over Olaf's house.
Theatrical
Selim entered Sweet Land in several film festivals, and despite a positive reception and some awards, no Hollywood distributor would take it on. Eventually, Jeff Lipsky, formerly of October Films, agreed to distribute it, and Sweet Landopened in limited release on December 1, 2006. Initially released only in Minneapolis-St. Paul and New York, the film was rolled out gradually to other markets over the next several months.
Home media
Sweet Land secured a national DVD distribution deal with 20th Century Fox, who released the film on DVD on July 10, 2007.
Sweet Land received mostly positive reviews, which focused on the simplicity of its story, the beauty of its cinematography, and its strong sense of place. Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times named the film one of the ten best of 2006. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote Sweet Land "is a type of American independent we don't see...
The film was adapted into a stage musical by producer Perrin Post and playwright Laurie Flanigan Hegge, with music and lyrics by Hegge and Dina Maccabee. The musical premiered at the History Theatre in St. Paulin 2017.
Sweet Land at IMDbSweet Land at AllMovieSweet Land at Rotten TomatoesWatch Sweet Land with a subscription on Prime Video. Finding the right balance between subtle and sentimental, Sweet Land moves beyond other similarly-themed dramas with evocative...
- (73)
- Ali Selim
- PG
- Elizabeth Reaser
Sweetland is a 2023 Canadian drama film, directed by Christian Sparkes. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Michael Crummey, the film stars Mark Lewis Jones as Moses, a retired fisherman who refuses to leave the isolated Newfoundland and Labrador outport town of Sweetland when the provincial government launches a resettlement initiative.
Featuring supporting performances by veteran performers Ned Beatty, Paul Sand, and Lois Smith, Sweet Land is the story of immigrant America, made by the son of first-generation immigrants themselves.
