Los emigrantes

Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann play a husband and wife who decide to emigrate to America with their family and fellow villagers in the mid-19th century.

The first part of the film details the challenges these people face that make them want to emigrate in the first place. An oppressive village hierarchy in which all laws and rules of accepted behavior are arbitrated by a self-appointed few, as well as conditions that make farming a constant struggle, leave them craving the freedoms and fertility of the mythic U.S. The second part of the film is a meticulous recreation of what the actual journey was like, including a long segment about the miseries of crossing the Atlantic Ocean (including sea sickness and lice), and the interminable trek up the Mississippi River to Minnesota once they landed. It's almost impossible to wrap your head around how frightening this entire experience would have been for them. These people knew almost nothing about the world outside of their small Swedish village (one young man doesn't even know how the ocean works and thinks they're all going to drown if the water rises) and trust themselves to strangers who don't speak their language or really have any reason to look out for their interests. It's a fascinating film and feels more like a documentary than a fictional narrative.

Unfortunately, the only version I was able to see was the dubbed one shown by TCM. I would have much preferred to see it subtitled so that I could experience von Sydow's and Ullmann's performances as they were meant to be experienced.

"The Emigrants" was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1971 Academy Awards, and then because of Oscar's weird eligibility rules popped up again a year later with four nominations, for Best Picture, Best Director (Jan Troell), Best Actress (Ullmann), and Best Adapted Screenplay. At the time, it was only the third foreign language film after "Grand Illusion" and "Z" to receive a Best Picture nomination. And the film's sequel, "The New Land," was up for Best Foreign Language Film the same year that "The Emigrants" was in the Best Picture race. Good couple of years for director Jan Troell.

Grade: A

Part 1 of a two-part epic (the second part is 1972's The New Land), I half thought about watching The Emigrants and its second part as one long movie, but The Emigrants by itself is plenty for now. I'd probably burn out and therefore not be able to appreciate The New Land properly if I tried to marathon them, but do plan to find the time to finish this two-part epic within the next day or two.

The Emigrants alone feels like two, or maybe even three, movies in one. Its runtime exceeds three hours, and it tells the story of a group of farmers in Sweden during the 1800s deciding to start a new life in America. This first half of the overall saga involves establishing how bad life was for a farmer in Sweden, then showing the arduous journey by boat from Sweden to America, and then finally, it spends some time with the characters as they travel further inland after setting foot in America.

It's gruelling by design, and viscerally captures how difficult such a journey would have been back during the middle of the 19th century. The section spent at sea is particularly harrowing, but I guess it has to be, and it doesn't shy away from anything when it comes to claustrophobia, seasickness, lice, terrible food, disease, and death. It makes The Emigrants a tough but compelling watch, and part of me wonders what The New Land will do to keep the stakes high, because it's hard to imagine things getting worse than that trip across the ocean (I may end up eating my words 24-48 hours from now, but we'll have to wait and see).

Not a film for everyone, but I thought it moved pretty well considering its length and slow pace. Performances were generally strong, and it had some very good visuals too. I get the sense Terrence Malick would have loved this movie, too, because I see bits of Badlands, Days of Heaven, The New World, and A Hidden Life in here at times.

One of the few foreign language films to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards (it didn't win, of course), The Emigrants tells the story of the hardships a family faces in a rural county of Sweden, causing them to look to America as a refuge. What's interesting about The Emigrants is that the film is Swedish- you wouldn't necessarily expect the Swedes to make a film about how awful Sweden is and how great the United States is. But, using a realistic and not melodramatic approach, the film lets us know what the family is struggling with and allows us to understand them.

The characters, played by Ingmar Bergman regulars Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann and Allan Edwall, face poor harvests, starvation, poverty, religious persecution and even false rumours of bestiality. They look to the US as a place where a farmer can become rich, with even American slavery looking better than their previous situation. Getting to North America, however, will take a rough voyage in which our heroes will face disease, lice and death, and come into psychological conflict with each other. This makes for a strong drama.

Surely one of the best foreign films of the 1970s and a great addition to the strong cinematic year 1971, The Emigrants is an understated but still compelling film, and I look forward to The Criterion Collection's restoration.

I had this movie on VHS and transferred it to DVD. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen, and its sequel "The New Land" is equally as good. The acting, direction, cinematography... all excellent. It is a very evocative movie and seems to depict quite honestly the hardships and struggles of immigrants in the 1800s. This is one of about a dozen movies I must watch at least once per year. I love it. I would recommend this movie to dang-near anybody!

The Emigrants follows Karl Oskar (Max von Sydow) and Kristina (Liv Ullman), plus their children and some extended family members and neighbors, on their journey from rural Sweden to America in the 1840s. The movie excels at showing the backbreaking work required just to stay afloat on a struggling farm, as well as the everyday misfortunes and occasional calamities that could ruin those already on the brink of economic catastrophe.

Few of the characters believe the streets of America are paved with gold. Instead, The Emigrants is a brutally realistic take about struggling and seeing no future in one's homeland and deciding to risk everything in order to have a shot at a better future. The movie is neither cliche nor cynical about the "American Dream." It makes its social points through contrasts and juxtaposition. We see the wealthy Americans aboard a steamboat interspersed with jarring shots of chained slaves below. There also are incredible moments of wonder, like the elderly Swedish woman seeing a steam engine approach for the first time in her life.

The film is an honest and moving portrait about one group of Swedish expats seeking opportunity, whether financial or religious. Perhaps most of all, the movie captures the sense of home and of homelessness for the characters. The chemistry between von Sydow and Ullmann is incredible. Husband and wife, they say they are best friends, and it shows. It's powerful acting.

I would give this film a 9/10, but for the editing. At least a half hour of this film could have been left on the cutting-room floor, particularly in the first half. You could walk away for several minutes and miss nothing. Otherwise, The Emigrants definitely worth seeing.