In an effort to make a better life for his family, Karl Oskar (Max von Sydow) has grand dreams of moving from Småland in Sweden to North America to create a large, bountiful, and profitable farm.  His wife, Kristina (Liv Ullmann) is a little more hesitant to leave their family land, but ever faithful in both God and her husband, she agrees to cross the ocean with the children.  With them, Karl’s younger brother Robert (Eddie Axberg) has bold and ambitious plans to achieve his own American dream with his friend Arvid (Pierre Lindstedt).  Rounding out the family is Kristina’s Uncle Danjel (Allan Edwall) and his wife Ulrika (Monica Zetterlund) who are being persecuted for rejecting the official religion of the Ljuder Parish by practicing the sacrament at their home. 

In the late 1960’s, production began on Jan Troell’s massive pair of films based on the novels of Vilhelm Moberg which resulted in a combined runtime of 393 minutes; The Emigrants (1971) and The New Land (1972).  Troell was relatively new to filmmaking when he began production with only two feature titles under his belt, but he enveloped himself entirely into the process by not only serving as the director, but screenwriter and editor as well.  Oftentimes he would operate the camera so that he could move freely throughout the scene and capture the real-time reactions and emotions from his impressive cast.  The films were released domestically by Warner Brothers garnering multiple Academy Award Nominations.  The films were cut and turned into a television series and in 2016 The Criterion Collection restored the films and made them available on home media in their entirety.  

The ensemble cast revolves around von Sydow’s Karl Oskar as the patriarch of the small farm burdened by rocky and infertile soil.  The farmer is punished like Job, but unlike Job he curses the God that continues to subject him with famine, the death of his daughter, and fires that destroy his barn.  His rage in these moments of tragedy is less theatrical than in The Virgin Spring (1960) where his ire comes more against man than nature, but it is just as powerful, just as forceful, and von Sydow despite his impressive 6’4” stature which fills the frame, still seems weak against the impossible conditions Sweden provides.  His ambitions almost always result in a humbling, yet his resilience is what drives the film forward, and though he falters at times, Karl Oskar is not one to ever give in and declare defeat. 

Dutifully behind her husband is Kristina, softer and much more hesitant to blame God for their hardship, Ullmann delivers the standout performance in the saga.  She is incredibly forward thinking, asking Karl Oskar to consider the burden on bringing another child into the impoverished lives they lead and when she ultimately does become pregnant again, she rebukes her husband’s initial notion that she is wholly at fault; a situation which Karl Oskar does take his share of responsibility for time and time again.  She handles her tests in a much different way than Karl Oskar, only breaking when it becomes too much to bear, and it is always devastating to watch – the lice on the ship, the longing for home, the alienation of not knowing English.  Ullmann has one of the most emotional roles of the entire cast and despite the hardships her character endures, she is always graceful through Kristina’s multiple trials.       

From the start, von Sydow and Ullman are immediately believable as a couple, and yet their love and affection for each other continue to grow throughout the length of the narrative.  They were no strangers to each other, previously costarring in three Ingmar Bergman films together.  No doubt their history together in those experiments in existential dread unknowingly prepared the dynamic couple for the truly tangible hell where Troell would place them.  The struggles bring them closer together, and by the end of The New Land in those final scenes, the tender moments spent reflecting on their journey is enough to bring a tear to the eye.  Through it all they persisted, always having each other, and it is in that final scene where they share a beautiful reconciliation with one another; Karl Oskar understands Kristina’s nostalgia for home, and Kristina recognizes the promise of a fruitful life in Minnesota.   

The films are not just following Karl Oskar and Kristina, but they involve a wide ensemble of people fleeing from Småland, and Troell’s management here is next to none.  If there was any character who gets slighted, it would be Uncle Danjel.  The reason for this is that after his initial introduction, he operates more as a side character in Ulrika’s story, but even still he has a fully formed and executed arc.  With Ulrika, Troell allows a foil for Kristina who has always been very straight-laced and true to the church, while Ulrika is a reformed prostitute who practices her faith in Danjel’s illegal masses. Often, the two women do not see eye to eye which causes for some great animosity and personal conflict. 

One such instance is that while they are all en route across the Atlantic and there is an outbreak of lice.  Kristina immediately blames Ulrika in her prejudice of the other woman.  In a moment of humility for Kristina, who always regarded herself as pious, she must reckon with the fact that it was she who is plagued with the lice while Ulrika is free from the pests.  While Karl Oskar must fight to overcome the elements, Kristina must fight to overcome her own nature.  These tests, however, mostly result in her growing resentment towards the repentant woman until they finally bond over the shared experience of motherhood.  Having come to an understanding, the two become rocks for each other, especially in The New Land, and while they follow very different paths once they settle in Minnesota, their relationship is one of the most captivating of the entire film. 

The final major pairing to make the crossing is Arvid and Robert.  Back in Sweden, the two young men met as workers on Aron’s (Åke Fridell) farm.  Robert is bookish, a bit lazy, and suffers abuse from Aron when he is found to be slacking on the job.  Arvid, a more oafish fellow, is relentlessly teased by the matriarch and her daughters.  When their first spring comes in North America, they make the decision to push forward and go to California to strike gold.  Their journey, told through Robert’s flashbacks and night terrors, is an impressive feat of filmmaking which continues to highlight Troell’s expert eye for b-roll footage that adds incredible texture to the two films.  Done wordlessly, their quest could be a movie in its own right as they contend with navigational issues, lack of resources, yellow fever, and double crossing to name a few of their obstacles.   

Their arc together is a true tragedy in the film, but it also pushes the narrative of The New Land into much graver territory than The Emigrants which remains almost exclusively in the realm of interpersonal conflict.  Their story highlights some of the struggles facing the people of North America at the time, and while it was seen as a haven for the Swedes that have just broke shore, it was far from perfect.  Without Robert and Arvid’s exploration of the hardships off of the farm, the ending of the film – a deeply affecting sequence portraying the mass execution of 38 Dakota warriors captured during the Dakota War of 1862 – would feel almost too jarring and out of place.  It is Robert, in both films, that opens up the world of the film first giving courage to Karl Oskar to pursue his own dream of coming to America, and then convincing Arvid of the promise of gold.  The boy’s exuberance and excitement make his eventual fall all the more heartbreaking.     

The hardships come not without warning, however.  Karl Oskar is rather aimless knowing only he wants to go to North America until he befriends his neighbors on the ship while crossing the ocean.  The elderly couple, Måns and Fina-Kajsa Andersson (Bror Englund, Agneta Prytz), who tell Karl Oskar they are traveling to live with their son, Anders (Halvar Björk), who has made a successful farm for himself on 100 acres of fertile land is enough to convince the man to follow them to Minnesota, too.  When the party arrives at Anders’ homestead, it does not live up to what Fina-Kajsa had imagined and to watch her process the grief that her son still lives in poverty is like looking at the tea leaves that spell out poor Robert’s fate as well. 

Troell’s films almost always border on melodrama, and in the most offhanded way can be seen as nothing more than a parade of tragedy, but to not take it in as the sum of its parts is to cheat oneself of the full experience which is a study of the highs and lows of uprooting one’s livelihood in pursuit of a better life.  None of these characters are perfect.  None of these characters are the same.  They all have the same goals in mind, but their choices vary greatly which allows the length of the film to fly by as the narrative they weave is engrossing from start to finish. The film carries many of the same themes as Hollywood’s classic expansion westerns which make it a very accessible film despite its runtime and the language barrier.