CAIRO: A romantic comedy, “Sweet Land is a rare independent feature film that explores the assimilation of immigrants in the United States during the 1920s and is one of the gems of this year’s Cairo International Film Festival.
Inge (Elizabeth Reaser) arrives in Minnesota, a farming community, to marry a young Norwegian farmer named Olaf (Tim Guinee). Her German heritage and lack of official immigration papers make her an object of suspicion in the small town, and she and Olaf are forbidden to marry.
Alone and adrift, Inge goes to live with the family of Olaf’s friend and neighbor Frandsen (Alan Cumming) and his wife Brownie (Alex Kingston), where she learns the English language and American ways.
Inge and Olaf slowly come to know each other, and against the backdrop of endless farmland and cathedral skies they fall in love. Still unable to marry, they live together openly, despite the scorn of the neighbors and the disapproval of the local minister (John Heard). But when his friend Frandsen’s farm is threatened by foreclosure, Olaf takes a stand, and the community unites around the young couple, finally accepting Inge as one of their own.
Based on Will Weaver’s short story “A Gravestone Made of Wheat the first-time feature director Ali Selim manages to translate this into a universal story of love and discovery.
The son of an Alexandrian student who traveled to the US in the 1950 and decided to set roots after marrying an American of German descent, Selim explained to reporters that he made this film more in the memory of his father than his German mother.
“When I was 18, just out of high school and visiting Egypt with some friends, one of my Egyptian uncles said to me, ‘If you don’t know where you come from, you can’t possibly know where you’re going.’, recalls Selim during an interview aired on Minnesota’s pubic radio station.
“Unannounced, [my uncle] took me on a three-day road trip through the neighborhoods and towns of my dad’s childhood and their dad’s childhood. That trip, more than any singular event, defined the way I try to live and understand my life, he explained.
Having participated in 30 film festivals across North America – winning first place prizes at about 20 – the film has just been released in theaters across the US last October. He managed to recoup the $1 million invested in the feature, raising the money personally and from among friends.
During a press conference following the Cairo screening, Selim told The Daily Star Egypt that “The number one reason [for participating at the festival] is to show my film to my family.
The second reason, he added, is the opportunity to see how different audiences would receive the film. He pointed out that American audience usually found the movie humorous. The Egyptian audience, on the other hand, rarely chuckled during the screening.
It could possibly be the lack of Arabic subtitles, and the unintelligible German-Norwegian dialogue between Inge and Olaf. Also, the humor is a tad more subtle that Egyptian audiences are accustomed to, relayed through the director’s sense of timing and the actors’ expressiveness rather than dialogue.
Cinematographer David Tumblety created an epic portrayal of the Minnesota plains: majestic, sprawling landscapes that make the humans seem minute in the force of nature. Tumblety transforms the screen into a canvas, his artistry adding a touch of sentimentality to the story.
The film’s theme is universal, and possible even eternal. Despite globalization pulling cultures closer together, we all have a desire to fit in and a latent fear of outsiders who threaten to unbalance the status quo.
Inge encapsulates both that desire and fear. And, in a statement that would not be out of place if spoken by many of today’s religious leaders – both Muslim and Christian – “Those who are from the outside, God judges, claims the local minister in his Sunday sermon.
“I like seeing films that change my view of the universe by a degree or two. The kind of films that remind me who I love . how and why I love them. The kind of films that show you another part of the world, in the hope that you feel empathy with humanity as a whole, films that present emotions and ideas. I hope this is one of those, Selim said during his radio interview.
“Sweet Land is a movie that will stay with viewers long after the credits finish rolling. It is a simple reminder of the better side of human nature and our cohesive spirit. It may not change their view of the universe, but it will certainly remind them that life can be good.
Please check www.cairofilmfest.com for upcoming screenings.
