‘Sweet Land’ bores despite its beauty
By Kayla Torgerson and Caitlin Gath and Aaron Ensweiler | Feb. 13, 2007John Keats famously wrote, A thing of beauty is a joy forever; its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness."" Ali Selim seems to have taken these words to heart in his first feature film, ""Sweet Land."" Set in 1920s rural Minnesota, the film is a study in beauty, wearing its nostalgia on its sepia-toned sleeve. All the elements are there: rustic baseball games, an old victrola pouring waltzes over the corn fields, midnight walks beneath the aurora borealis and a local priest who quotes""well""Keats of course. It's unfortunate that in a film of almost painterly beauty, Selim's narrative should plod along at such a glacial pace, making for a viewing experience that, appropriately enough, is about as interesting as watching paint dry.
