Utvandrarna (1971)

Director:

Jan Troell

Writers:

Bengt Forslund (writer)
Vilhelm Moberg (novels)

Release Date:

8 March 1971 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

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

Plot:

In the middle of the 19th century, Kristina and Karl-Oskar live in a small rural village in Smaaland (southern Sweden)...

Plot Keywords:

1850s | Immigration | Ocean | Religious Intolerance | Winter

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 6 wins

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Emigrants (USA)

Runtime:

151 min | Germany:182 min | 191 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Norway:12 (1972) | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Trivia:

Jan Troell and Wilhelm Moberg had a disagreement whether the actors should use dialects. Troell wanted all actors to speak Småländska (the dialect spoken in county Småland where the story takes place) while Moberg wanted no dialects. As a compromise Karl-Oskar and Kristina speak with a dialect while many of the others such as Robert and Arvid only speak with a very light accent.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 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.

Quotes:

Robert: No one can walk on foot to America.
Arvid: Not in any way?
Robert: No, not on any conditions... America is an island.
Arvid: ...Damn ocean.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Nybyggarna (1972)

THE Great American Film

Even without 40 minutes of its original running time (trimmed by the idiots at Warner Brothers, who couldn't see American audiences sitting through a 3-hour film), "The Emigrants" is one of the greatest films ever made in Sweden - and probably the finest so far about the immigrant experience.

Troell's film was also the most expensive production to date (1971) in Sweden, which outraged many Swedes and made them attack the film quite unfairly. Box Office receipts worldwide, however, persuaded Hollywood that Troell was "bankable" and gave him a few shots at at fame and fortune ("Zandy's Bride" and "The Hurricane" - the latter to have been directed by Roman Polanski just prior to his banishment from America). Luckily, Troell failed in Hollywood and went back to Sweden.