The Emigrants

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

1971 3h 11m SV

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 131

DramaHistoryWestern

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Karl and Kristina Nilsson work on a farm in a cold and desolate area of 19th century rural Sweden. Growing privations, combined with increasing social and religious persecution, motivate the Nilssons and many of their neighbors to strike out for the United States. Following a treacherous ocean crossing and an equally grueling land passage, the emigrants find themselves in seemingly idyllic Minnesota.

“a new land... a new hope... a new dream”

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Cast

Max von Sydow
Karl Oskar
Liv Ullmann
Kristina
Eddie Axberg
Robert
Sven-Olof Bern
Nils
Aina Alfredsson
Märta
Allan Edwall
Danjel
Monica Zetterlund
Ulrika
Pierre Lindstedt
Arvid

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jan Troell
Writers: Bengt Forslund, Jan Troell
Languages: Swedish
Countries: Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 191 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Emigrants Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jan Troell, shot by Jan Troell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Erik Nordgren. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jan Troell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann and Eddie Axberg carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jan Troell directs. Jan Troell behind the camera. Erik Nordgren scores. Jan Troell cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in Sweden. Dialogue in Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 191 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
2Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
355 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "The Emigrants Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Jan Troell, shot by Jan Troell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Erik Nordgren. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jan Troell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann and Eddie Axberg carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "a new land... a new hope... a new dream".
10IMDB entry: tt0067919 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 14 themes, including "ship", "husband wife relationship", "minnesota", "american dream".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jan Troell
Original score: Erik Nordgren
Editing: Jan Troell
Costume design: Ulla-Britt Söderlund
Makeup / hair: Bengt Ottekil
Sound: Berndt Frithiof
Runtime: 191 min · 3h 11m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,600,000
Original language: SV
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Emigrants (1971)

Awards

Silver nugget for the best foreign film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Emigrants Collection

This monumental mid-nineteenth-century epic from Jan Troell charts, over the course of two films, a Swedish farming family’s voyage to America and their efforts to put down roots in this beautiful but forbidding new world. Movie legends Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann, respectively portray Karl Oskar and Kristina, a couple who meet with one physical and emotional trial after another on their arduous journey. The precise, minute detail with which Troell depicts the couple’s story—which is also that of countless other people who sought better lives across the Atlantic—is a wonder to behold. Engrossing at every step of the way, the duo of The Emigrants and The New Land makes for perhaps the greatest screen drama about the settling of America. The film series is based on a series of four novels by the Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg. The novels are The Emigrants (1949), Unto a Good Land (1952), The Settlers (1956), and The Last Letter Home (1959).