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Sweet Land (2008) Certificate PG

Sweet Land

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Rated 2.5 stars
Average rating
(52%)
 
Starring: Elizabeth Reaser | Tim Guinee | Lois Smith | Ned Beatty | Alan Cumming | Alex Kingston | John Heard | Paul Sand | Jodie Markell | Tom Gilroy
Director: Ali Selim
Studio: REVELATION FILMS
Run time: 111 mins
Genres: Drama | Romance
Languages: English, German, Norwegian
Released: January 26, 2009

When mail-order bride Inge arrives in Minnesota in 1920 to marry a young Norwegian farmer named Olaf, her German heritage and lack of official immigration papers makes her an object of suspicion in the small town, and she and Olaf are forbidden to marry. Alone and adrift, Inge goes to live with the family of Olaf's friend and neighbor Frandsen and his wife Brownie, where she learns the English language, American ways and a hard-won independence. Inge and Olaf slowly come to know each other, and against the backdrop of endless farmland and cathedral skies they fall in love--a man and woman united by the elemental forces of nature. Still unable to marry, they live together openly, despite the scorn of the neighbors and the disapproval of the local minister. But when his friend Frandsen's farm is threatened by foreclosure, Olaf takes a stand, and the community unites around the young couple, finally accepting Inge as one of their own.

Screenshots

Rating of 4 stars out of 5
Time Out

Its quite astonishing that Sweet Land is the debut feature film of writer-director Ali Selim, as it displays...

Highest rated reviews

8 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 0.0 stars
rubbish

A Customer from Northampton, 4th February, 2009

oh dear oh dear...painfully sloooooowwww..switched it off after 25 mins with me and wife in a state of bewilderment of how it could be so crap...

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5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 4.0 stars
gentle and sweet

A Customer from london, 2nd March, 2009

a really sweet film with a very gentle pace we liked it

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5 out of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 0.0 stars
Yawn...what the **** is going on?

A Customer from Maidenhead, 16th February, 2009

Worst film I have seen in a long long time. Tedious, disjointed rubbish.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1.0 stars
No, no no... dull!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Customer from Surrey, 16th March, 2009

I just don't see the point!

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Most recent reviews

Rated 3.0 stars
Beautiful film

Poot from , 20th January, 2010

Really beautiful cinemtogography. I mean REALLY beautiful. May be at expense of storyline which is a bit slight but gently funny and pulls you along.

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Rated 4.0 stars
Let music swell the breeze, and ring from all the trees

zorilla from , 8th August, 2009

A beautiful, transcendent film with hints of, and an homage to, the classic cinema of John Ford and Terence Malik. A vast sweeping panorama of America worthy of an Andrew Wyeth or Grant Wood painting. An important political message with the social conscience of a Steinbeck or Upton Sinclair novel. A damning indictment of the church where apparently mild-mannered Lutheran pastors rule their communities with the unwavering hand of the most fundamental Ayatollah. A simple, tender and profoundly touching love story. Whatever you want it to be, this film is all of these things and a whole lot more. Quiet, beautiful, intelligent film making of this calibre is an increasingly rare commodity. If we don't nurture and cherish films like this they will soon disappear and our only choices will be Transformers 7 or Terminator 10. See this film and then urge your friends to see it too - they'll thank you for it.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 2.0 stars
DevilMayCare

A Customer from Southampton, 21st July, 2009

Honestly I found this film to slow to be interesting so I lost all desire to watch it after 20 minutes. Unfortunately it isn't beautiful enough to keep you watching it all the way through the way that some slow films do.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 2.0 stars
Too boring to bother watching

JoG from , 8th May, 2009

Sorry but had every intention to watch but when got it, just couldnt summon the energy to be bothered. Nothing to grab my attention and make me want to watch it all. Seemed a bore. Sorry.

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