Wonderful Movie

From my favorite movies..

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Tim Guinee's young Olaf was the male star, not Patrick. Give him the credit he is due. Tim Guinee was thoroughly believable as the reserved, thoughtful, thrifty Norwegian settler who gets more than he bargained for in his mail order bride. His portrayal of the devout Lutheran's struggle to keep his male hormones under control provides some of the most comic moments in the film. His wonder when Inge and the preacher share Keats poetry, the gradual shifting of the balance of power when Inge shows what a strong and headstrong woman she is, his courage when faced with crooked bankers were all perfectly rendered. This one is a keeper. Beautiful in every way.

Upon watching the film and even after, it was quite different from anything I have seen about how the Germans were treated in the United States after the First World War. Watching the film, and seeing how the town minister acted upon learning the woman was from Germany, it seemed as though he promoted bigotry, and as a minister of the word of God, he really has no place doing so (one man's opinion), but I guess things happened like this no matter what. The reason I felt the way I did, which is in favor of the German woman, was because what real harm could she really possess? I mean, my family came from Germany before the turn of the last century, so I would assume that they could have had this bigotry happen to them, which makes me feel the way I do about the woman in the film. I believe if I had been alive during the time period portrayed in the film, I would have most likely been an outcast as well, for my beliefs could weigh me down. The Lord says we should accept people as they are, and I know I haven't done my best to suit such, but when two people love each other, as these two in the film came to do, doubt shouldn't be about.Even the world in which we live, there are cynics and there are lovers, the best of which are those that love. I know people from each side of the aisle, so to say, and they each have a great argument, but at the end of the day God teaches us to love unconditionally, which sometimes is hard to do and therefore, I know what the minister was going through. It's all a part of each of our lives that we have to outgrow. God willing, we can learn to love and accept without end.

Simple and beautiful love story Sweet Land (2005) had won its creator Ali Selim Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. In the film, love triumphs over ignorance, prejudice, social hardships, and the other obstacles, not the last one, the difference in cultures and languages. German immigrant Inge (Lois Smith, a wonderful but rarely seen in the movies stage and TV actress) tells her life story to her grandson after burying her husband of 48 years on their farm in Minnesota in 1968. The story begins in 1920, when Inge (Elizabeth Reaser as Young Inge) just arrived to Minnesota as a mail-order bride to Norwegian-American farmer Olaf (Tim Guinee). Discovering that Inge is actually German, the community and its spiritual leader Minister Sorrensen refused to accept Inge as Olaf's wife echoing the anti-German propaganda in the country after WWI. The touching tale of a young couple's falling in love, longing for each other, wishing to live and work together on the land till death do them part, and finally making the community accept their love, is beautifully shot and moves in a quiet thoughtful way where every small detail matters. Elizabeth Reaser as young Inge is radiant and it is hard to take your eyes off her face and smile. Her Inge is strong, intelligent, beautiful, and funny. Indeed, sweet movie.

"Sweet Land" has several themes. Set in the years immediately after WW I, this community of Scandinavians reject anything German, even the language. When one of their own brings in his mail-order bride, a German, they are both rejected. Meanwhile his good friend is in debt, about to lose his farm to the auction block, and he needs to figure out how to marry this lady when the proper "papers" are absent.Elizabeth Reaser, an American, plays Inge from Germany. Pretty, smart, but not able to communicate. She meets her intended, Tim Guinee as Olaf, a very hard-working farmer. Initially very shy towards Inge, we see his admiration develop for her gradually.Because of the strict religious attitude of the time, Inga wasn't even able to stay with Olaf, instead sleeping among the 9 children at the next door neighbor's farm. But after a short while she wandered over to Olaf's, and he stayed in the barn to keep things sort of OK.The story is about immigration in the 1920s USA, about dealing with mail-order brides, about attitudes and prejudices. The movie also cuts to a period in the 1990s when Olaf dies, and the modern times when Inge dies, and the grandson has to decide if he will keep the farm, or sell it to a subdivision developer for $2Million+.