The second half of Jan Tröll's huge epic film goes beyond the expectations of even those who recognize the greatness of the first part (THE EMIGRANTS). This is a film that attempts to show most of an entire life, and it succeeds. While specific in the period, setting and character backgrounds, it's ultimately a universal experience. We see the great struggle of human existence played out against hardship, joy, horror and tragedy. All of it told through acting, directing and a poetic visual style that drive home the themes, and haunt the memory long afterward. The cast is headed by two of Ingmar Bergman's best-known and lauded stars (Liv Ullman and Max von Sydow, as Kristina and Karl Oscar) along with an astonishing young actor, Eddie Axberg, as Robert.
Great moments come and go, sometimes lingering on the screen, sometimes gone in a flash. Tröll spares the viewer nothing as far as life's harsh realities go. He takes chances too. Midway through THE NEW LAND, we are shown a lengthy flashback of Robert's harrowing ordeal when he and a friend leave Minnesota to find gold in California. Things go terribly wrong, and the sequence can resemble the writing of Cormac McCarthy in its grim poetry--told mostly without dialog and a percussion-only score. Not many directors would have risked it, but he sequence adds immeasurably to Robert's tragic character. In the end, this is Karl Oscar's story, with Max von Sydow in what could be his greatest role. All the wonder and sadness of life is in his performance, and up there on the screen. This is a great film by any standard.
Great moments come and go, sometimes lingering on the screen, sometimes gone in a flash. Tröll spares the viewer nothing as far as life's harsh realities go. He takes chances too. Midway through THE NEW LAND, we are shown a lengthy flashback of Robert's harrowing ordeal when he and a friend leave Minnesota to find gold in California. Things go terribly wrong, and the sequence can resemble the writing of Cormac McCarthy in its grim poetry--told mostly without dialog and a percussion-only score. Not many directors would have risked it, but he sequence adds immeasurably to Robert's tragic character. In the end, this is Karl Oscar's story, with Max von Sydow in what could be his greatest role. All the wonder and sadness of life is in his performance, and up there on the screen. This is a great film by any standard.