PG | Rottentomatoes.com Rating:84% | 2005 |
(Brief language, and brief nudity, played for laughs) | Picky Flicks Quote: "A gentle, heartwarming, almost fairy-tale like love saga." -Jennifer Merrin, New York Press | RUNTIME:1 hr. 50 min. |
Visit:www.screenit.com for complete details | Movie Mood:  Old-School |
How would you like it if you and your spouse didn’t speak the same language? And, no, I’m not talking about a figurative love language where taking out the trash means, “I adore you,” or a foot rub is a declaration of undying devotion. I mean, language—as in, you speak English, and she doesn’t.
Well, believe it or not, this didn’t used to be too terribly strange of a scenario. You see, there were these guys who liked to dig in the dirt a lot called farmers or, in some cases, gold-diggers, and apparently, they got so much dirt under their fingernails that not even the two remaining twin spinster sisters in town would so much as look at them cross-eyed, so they had to send off for really long-term blind dates (otherwise known as mail-order brides) from way-the-heck over in Timbuktu. The plus side was that, if the lady agreed to come, she was kind of prepared for the possibility of dirty fingernails, but the downside was that she might have a couple of hairy warts herself or, well…a complete lack of acquaintance with your native tongue (who knows, if she’s pretty, some guys might see that as bonus).
Okay, so maybe I’m a little sketchy on the details of how the whole mail-order spouse system went down way back when, but I do know it makes for a good movie premise—one that Sweet Land, a gentle honey of a romantic comedy, milks to good effect. The movie is told mostly in flashbacks as Lars, the grandson of one such mail-order bride, tries to decide whether to sell the family farm or to hang onto the land as a legacy left to him by Inge, the bride herself.
You see, in 1920, Inge sailed the ocean blue and ended up in Minnesota, a most fetchingly pretty answer to shy Olaf’s prayers. But in a tumultuous time fraught with suspicion and war, Inge’s German heritage and lack of official papers (she has no clue; the poor girl hardly knows “yes” and “no” and usually says the former when she means the latter and vice versa) make the townsfolk a mite nervous. In fact, until they can get the matter squared away, the tiny hamlet’s only preacher refuses to join them in the bonds of holy matrimony. If the movie stumbles, it is in its rather heavy-handed portrayal of the “closeminded” locals, spearheaded, of course, by a reverend. Yes, yes, I get it. All religious individuals are bigots and fear-mongers.
But, considering that the reverend eventually gets another paper-thin layer that takes him from outright stereotype to two-dimensional, almost-real-character status, I am still highly recommending this movie on the basis of its other, considerable charms.
The acting is top-notch all around, but while the supporting cast—including screen veterans, Alan Cummings (turning his crisp British accent into a hilarious parody of a Minnesotan twang, dontcha know) and Ned Beatty—is wonderful, it’s the film’s unlikely lovers, Inge and Olaf, that make the movie sing. Elizabeth Reiser as Inge is a revelation. She’s sweet and feisty, confident and lost-as-a-beautiful-auburn-haired-goose all at once. And Tim Guinee plays Olaf as the strong, silent type with just enough awkward grace to melt your heart.
Sweet Land is also frequently quite funny. In one particularly amusing sequence, Inge is shuffled off to Olaf’s best friend’s house to stay until the issue of her papers can be resolved—a house that is forever brimming with nine children of varying ages and states of undress and cleanliness. Around this place, just getting a bath or two seconds of alone time takes an act of congress, and Inge’s exasperation without the words to express it is a hoot to watch.
But ultimately, Sweet Land is a love story as Inge and Olaf discover the unexpected boon of attraction blossoming over and around their mutual need for each other. The breathtaking shots of Southern Minnesota’s green, green fields and blue, blue skies stretching on forever without a cloud in sight only add to the feeling of old-fashioned romance and grandeur that help this small, pleasingly simple movie achieve its well-deserved feeling of nostalgic wonder.
Sweet Land truly is a sweet treat.
Until next Wednesday, stay picky. Your mind will thank you later!
Well, believe it or not, this didn’t used to be too terribly strange of a scenario. You see, there were these guys who liked to dig in the dirt a lot called farmers or, in some cases, gold-diggers, and apparently, they got so much dirt under their fingernails that not even the two remaining twin spinster sisters in town would so much as look at them cross-eyed, so they had to send off for really long-term blind dates (otherwise known as mail-order brides) from way-the-heck over in Timbuktu. The plus side was that, if the lady agreed to come, she was kind of prepared for the possibility of dirty fingernails, but the downside was that she might have a couple of hairy warts herself or, well…a complete lack of acquaintance with your native tongue (who knows, if she’s pretty, some guys might see that as bonus).
Okay, so maybe I’m a little sketchy on the details of how the whole mail-order spouse system went down way back when, but I do know it makes for a good movie premise—one that Sweet Land, a gentle honey of a romantic comedy, milks to good effect. The movie is told mostly in flashbacks as Lars, the grandson of one such mail-order bride, tries to decide whether to sell the family farm or to hang onto the land as a legacy left to him by Inge, the bride herself.
You see, in 1920, Inge sailed the ocean blue and ended up in Minnesota, a most fetchingly pretty answer to shy Olaf’s prayers. But in a tumultuous time fraught with suspicion and war, Inge’s German heritage and lack of official papers (she has no clue; the poor girl hardly knows “yes” and “no” and usually says the former when she means the latter and vice versa) make the townsfolk a mite nervous. In fact, until they can get the matter squared away, the tiny hamlet’s only preacher refuses to join them in the bonds of holy matrimony. If the movie stumbles, it is in its rather heavy-handed portrayal of the “closeminded” locals, spearheaded, of course, by a reverend. Yes, yes, I get it. All religious individuals are bigots and fear-mongers.
But, considering that the reverend eventually gets another paper-thin layer that takes him from outright stereotype to two-dimensional, almost-real-character status, I am still highly recommending this movie on the basis of its other, considerable charms.
The acting is top-notch all around, but while the supporting cast—including screen veterans, Alan Cummings (turning his crisp British accent into a hilarious parody of a Minnesotan twang, dontcha know) and Ned Beatty—is wonderful, it’s the film’s unlikely lovers, Inge and Olaf, that make the movie sing. Elizabeth Reiser as Inge is a revelation. She’s sweet and feisty, confident and lost-as-a-beautiful-auburn-haired-goose all at once. And Tim Guinee plays Olaf as the strong, silent type with just enough awkward grace to melt your heart.
Sweet Land is also frequently quite funny. In one particularly amusing sequence, Inge is shuffled off to Olaf’s best friend’s house to stay until the issue of her papers can be resolved—a house that is forever brimming with nine children of varying ages and states of undress and cleanliness. Around this place, just getting a bath or two seconds of alone time takes an act of congress, and Inge’s exasperation without the words to express it is a hoot to watch.
But ultimately, Sweet Land is a love story as Inge and Olaf discover the unexpected boon of attraction blossoming over and around their mutual need for each other. The breathtaking shots of Southern Minnesota’s green, green fields and blue, blue skies stretching on forever without a cloud in sight only add to the feeling of old-fashioned romance and grandeur that help this small, pleasingly simple movie achieve its well-deserved feeling of nostalgic wonder.
Sweet Land truly is a sweet treat.
Until next Wednesday, stay picky. Your mind will thank you later!
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