Review of Sweet Land (2005) by Bill V — 01 Jul 2008

The Normal Guy 50-Word-Or-Less Plot: The love story of a mail-order bride and of immigrants struggling to establish homesteads and new lives in post-war 1920â??s America.

This is an atypical indie film because the subject matter is not usual for indie films (i.e. not hip enough). But director and writer ALI SELIM delivers and proves you donâ??t need mega-dollars to explore and bring out the past. The film is based on a short story by Will Weaver titled, â??A Gravestone Made of Wheat". As I watched this film I was taken back to a time and place about which few of us know or even care to know. What made this possible is the cast made it convincing.

The film begins in the present with the grandson of a farming family who, after his grandmother dies, needs to decide whether or not to sell his grandparents' land for over $2 million. The story moves from being a real estate story to a love story. With supremely shot flashbacks, the film shows how the couple, mail-order bride Inge (ELIZABETH REASER) and her fiancé Olaf (TIM GUINEE) come together despite the odds against them 90 years ago in Minnesota.

Unknown to Olaf, Inge is from Germany and the local Lutheran minister (JOHN HEARD) isn't particularly excited about having a native of Germany (the country America fought in World War I) in his congregation. Inge wants to marry Olaf but she cannot produce immigration papers and the wedding is postponed. Inge ends up living with Olaf and they are forced to bond. Olaf and Inge adapt to one another and soon she teaches him to dance and he shows her how to harvest wheat while she learns English.

Selim in "Sweet Land" gives us an unusual look at love and how it can develop. Arranged marriage is not a concept about which many of us are familiar. In addition to this, we also get a portrayal of post-WWI prejudice in Americaâ??s heartland. This was bit of a history lesson.

The beginning of the film moves quickly between past and present. I found it difficult to track until Ingeâ??s story takes off. This is my only complaint. I liked this film.

Themes in the film include death, marriage, love, commitment, prejudice, forgiveness. If you like love stories especially those staged in the past, you will like this film. Those who want more sex, violence and ambiguity in love stories should skip this one unless you want learn how love stories can be tastefully and artfully done. Oh yeahâ?¦itâ??s rated â??Gâ??.