| 100 |
Variety
Intelligently written, brilliantly cast and thesped story of a German mail order bride in a Norwegian-American community in Minnesota just after WWI never hits a wrong note.
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| 100 |
Entertainment Weekly
Sweet Land is a movie of extraordinary tenderness, in which Reaser and Guinee, using a language of looks, make you happy to think about what love once might have been.
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| 90 |
Village Voice
Rob Nelson
Directing with a light comic touch and a palpable affection for the characters, Selim draws pitch-perfect acting from a large cast and achieves breathtaking levels of color and clarity from old-fashioned 35mm.
|
| 90 |
The Hollywood Reporter
Demonstrating a mastery of the medium that belies his status as a first-time feature filmmaker, writer-director Ali Selim has crafted in Sweet Land a tale of pure Americana that speaks both to the immigrant experience and the nature of love.
|
| 88 |
New York Post
This year's actress to watch is Elizabeth Reaser, who delivers a tour de force as a determined German mail-order bride who comes to 1920 Minnesota in Ali Selim's captivating indie Sweet Land.
|
| 88 |
Charlotte Observer
Top honors go to Guinee, who steadily builds his character from tiny details, and Reaser, who's understood through eyes and attitude while speaking a hodgepodge of German, Norwegian and English.
|
| 83 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
First-time director Ali Selim does an exceptional job throughout, his movie has the balance, uncluttered leanness and emotional impact of a Willa Cather short story, and it's no surprise that it has been nominated for Best First Feature in the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
A type of American independent we don't see often enough.
|
| 80 |
Salon.com
It's winsome, sentimental and lovely in a minor-key way.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Tribune
The film's most memorable performance is in another supporting role, by Alan Cumming as hapless Frandsen, Olaf's sympathetic neighbor and a hopelessly inept farmer.
|
| 75 |
Boston Globe
A lovely , old-fashioned farm romance quietly doubling as a comment on immigration and American identity.
|
| 75 |
Portland Oregonian
Sweet Land brushes against the true spirit of American independent cinema.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
An unusual look at love and how it can unexpectedly develop. Those for whom the concept of an arranged marriage is foreign will get a little history lesson on the immigrant experience watching this sweetly engrossing film.
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
The film’s guileless, heartfelt style veers perilously close to corniness at times, but the superb cast dares you to mock.
|
| 70 |
Chicago Reader
Ali Selim, a highly successful director of commercials in Minneapolis, makes his feature directing debut with this simple and beautifully paced drama, letting the characters breathe and the land speak.
|
| 67 |
Baltimore Sun
Once you get past the movie's needlessly fragmented framing device and its protracted introduction to a xenophobic rural Minnesota town, the core story gains some traction in your mind.
|
| 63 |
New York Daily News
Selim's script doesn't hit new territory, but beautiful cinematography takes it just far enough.
|
| 50 |
Washington Post
Sweet Land is as empty and beautiful as the picturesque Minnesota terrain it's so clearly taken with.
|
| 50 |
TV Guide
Mark Orton's overused fiddly score is nice enough, but can't disguise the essential emptiness of overlong scenes.
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