The Emigrants (1971)
"Utvandrarna" (original title)

In the middle of the 19th century, Kristina and Karl-Oskar live in a small rural village in Smaaland (southern Sweden). They get married and try to make a living on a small spot of land. ... See full summary »

Director:

Jan Troell

Writers:

Bengt Forslund, Vilhelm Moberg (novels),

Stars:

Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Max von Sydow	...	Karl Oskar
Liv Ullmann	...	Kristina
Eddie Axberg	...	Robert Nilsson
Sven-Olof Bern	...	Nils
Aina Alfredsson	...	Marta
Allan Edwall	...	Danjel
Monica Zetterlund	...	Ulrika
Pierre Lindstedt	...	Arvid
Hans Alfredson	...	Jonas Petter
Ulla Smidje	...	Danjel's wife
Eva-Lena Zetterlund	...	Elin, Ulrika's daughter
Gustaf Färingborg	...	The Vicar
Åke Fridell	...	Aron
Agneta Prytz	...	Fina Kajsa
Halvar Björk	...	Anders

Storyline

In the middle of the 19th century, Kristina and Karl-Oskar live in a small rural village in Smaaland (southern Sweden). They get married and try to make a living on a small spot of land. However, the small size of their land, the infertile soil, and some bad harvests makes it tough. One of their children even starve to death. Thus, they decide to emigrate to the U.S. They meet a group of farmers with their families planing the emigration under the leadership of a banned priest. They sell everything and embark for the U.S. The journey on the sailing ship is long and tedious. Some of the emigrants will never reach the New World.

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Plot Keywords:

journey | 19th century | ship | sailing ship | emigrant | 

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Taglines:

a new land...a new hope...a new dream

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish English

Release Date:

8 March 1971 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Emigrants

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 19,958,000 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

191 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actresses playing Ulrika and Elin, Ulrika's daughter, were also mother and daughter in real life.

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Goofs

On the train west a character shows an American silver coin and yells out it has "In God We Trust" on it. The scene is the 1850s and the motto was not added to American silver coins until 1867.

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Quotes

Kristina: If we refrained, I mean, then there won't be any more children.
Karl Oskar: Refrain? For the rest of our lives? Would we keep ourselves from each other for all our days? I would never be able to, Kristina. Not until I'm so old that spruce moss begins to grow in my beard.

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Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: Best Films of the '70s (1979)

User Reviews

"Memorable historic drama..."

Swedish screenwriter,film editor, cinematographer and director Jan Troell's third feature film which he edited, photographed and co-wrote with Swedish screenwriter and producer Bengt Forslund, is an adaptation of the novels "The Emigrants" (1949) and "Unto a Good Land" (1952) by Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg (1898-1973) which is the first two parts of his tetralogy, The Emigrants suite (1949-1959). The film was shot in Copenhagen, Denmark and on various locations in Sweden and USA, was produced by Bengt Forslund, is the first part of a two-part film and was succeeded by "The New Land" (1972). It tells the story about Karl-Oskar Nilsson, a peasant who lives on a countryside farm in Ljuders socken in Småland with his father, his mother and his younger brother Robert. When Karl-Oskar meets 17-year-old Kristina Johansdotter, he falls in love with her and later he marries her. Kristina gives birth to several children and they become a happy family, but as time goes by it get's harder and more challenging to run the farm, much due to the poor harvest. After reading an article in a newspaper about free land in North-America, Karl-Oskar begins to consider emigrating from Sweden with his family. Kristina is not happy about having to leave her family, but her husband's idea is encouraged when he learns that his brother is emigrating.

Acutely and engagingly directed by Jan Troell, this period drama, set against the backdrop of rural Sweden during the 1840s and 1850s, draws an extensive and gripping portrayal of a group of farmers and Christians who emigrate from their homeland, a humane portrayal of a friendship between two young farmhands and a compassionate portrayal of an evolving relationship between a farmer and his housewife. While notable for it's poignant art direction by Swedish production designer P.A. Lundgren (1911-2002), the distinct cinematography by Jan Troell and the fine costume design by Swedish costume designer Ulla-Britt Söderlund (1943-1985), this character-driven and dialog-driven epic where nature plays an important and symbolic part, examines themes like family relations, interpersonal relations, friendship, poverty, courage and dignity.

This Swedish production which was a big investment in Swedish cinema at the time, depicts several character portrayals and has a significant atmosphere which is emphasized by the naturalistic milieu depictions and the subtle score by Swedish composer Erik Nordgren (1913-1992). The film is impelled and reinforced by the emphatic and involving acting performances by Swedish actors Max von Sydow, Allan Edwall (1924-1997), Eddie Axberg and Pierre Lindstedt, Swedish actress and singer Monica Zetterlund (1937-2005) and Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann who was nominated for an Academy Award for best actress in a leading role at the 45th Academy Awards in 1973, marking her as the first Norwegian actress ever to gain an Academy Award nomination. A carefully narrated and memorable historic drama which gained, among other awards, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress Liv Ullmann and Best Foreign Language Film at the 30th Golden Globe Awards in 1973, the NYFCC Award for Best Actress Liv Ullmann at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards in 1973, the Jussi Award for Best Foreign Filmmaker Jan Troell at the Jussi Awards in 1972 and was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1973.