Sweet Land

Sometimes you find a treasure you didn't know you were looking for. My wife and I went to the theater to see a film that we hadn't been able to fit in yet, but when we got to the theater, the showing we'd planned on was cancelled for a special event. So since we were there, we picked another film we'd heard good things about -- Sweet Land. It turned out to be one of those films that keeps me going to the art houses.

The sad news is that this film is in very limited release and many people will not get a chance to see it and appreciate it until it makes it to DVD. If it comes near you, it is an opportunity that should not be passed.

It's the story of Inge, a mail order bride who arrives in Minnesota in 1920 to marry Olaf whom she has never met. When it is discovered that she is German, suddenly everyone's opinion of her shifts. The prejudice from the recent war continues to color everyone's impression of German people. She doesn't have the proper papers to marry and no one seems to want to help. She is isolated by language, by prejudice and eventually by community moral standards. In time she finds her place in the community and with Olaf. It is not a story of love at first sight. Rather it is a story of learning to love by sharing life -- a slow dance of discovery.

Just as the film was a treasure we didn't expect to find, so too does Inge become an unexpected treasure to Olaf and the whole community.

The story is framed by the story of Inge's death and her grandson's decision about what to do with the farm. It is by remembering the story of Inge and Olaf and what the land meant to them that helps him make a difficult choice. His memories are not so much about grief as they are a celebration of the life of these people he loved.

There is a subtlety to the film that is often lacking in bigger films. Interestingly, Director Ali Selim has worked mostly with TV commercials, which are not often known for being subtle. The story relies less on dialogue than many films. The director is comfortable with silence and image to tell much of the story. At times he uses images to relate one part of the story to another. For example, a scene as Olaf and Inge walk through the field after harvest reminds us of watching their adult grandson walk through the field as he contemplates selling the land.

There are also subtle echoes in the dialogue. One of Olaf's favorite sayings is "Farming and banking don't mix." But the first real dialogue in the film is when a developer drives out to the farm and talks to the grandson after Inge's death: "I'm sorry for you loss, Lars. I can give you 2.2 million for it -- put up twelve hundred houses." The value of this land for some (bankers and developers) can be quantified. But for Olaf (and his grandson) the value is much more elusive because the land is the life that Olaf and Inge have put into it.

The film speaks to issues that we continue to struggle with in daily life, including prejudice towards immigrants, stereotypes, community, and the ways our sense of decency can become a hindrance to real morality. It is a story that shows us the way that faith in ourselves and in each other can create a treasure beyond our expectations.

The closing credits are perhaps my favorite scenes of this year. It is a perfect wordless synopsis of the whole relationship of Inge and Olaf, and of the way community comes into being in the film. Perhaps that is Selim's experience with commercials being used to its fullest to tell us the story all over again in such a simple way.