The Emigrants Film Screening Dec. 12, 2021

Are you looking for a unique way to celebrate the holiday season?

If so, the Chisago Lakes Chamber of Commerce, Chisago Lakes Tourism Bureau and the Friends of the Karl Oskar House invite you to attend a special, free showing of Jan Troell’s 1971 film, “The Emigrants.” 

The film showing begins at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, in the Chisago Lakes High School Performing Arts Center in Lindstrom and includes a brief intermission when coffee and cookies will be served. There is no admission charge, but donations are welcome.

       “The Emigrants” tells a story filled with local connections and which brings to life the much-beloved fictional characters Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson as they face the challenges of our earliest pioneers. Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman star as Karl Oskar and Kristina in the film that respected critic Roger Ebert gave four stars and a rave review. 

       Whether your ancestors were Swedish, you enjoy film classics, or you simply would like to learn more about the history of the Chisago Lakes Area, all are welcome. Sponsors explain that the Dec. 12 event is offered in anticipation of the Christmas Day release of a remake of the original “Emigrants” film in Sweden. 

       In 1948, Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg visited the Chisago Lakes area while doing research to write the four books that would become the basis of “The Emigrants” film. He wanted to know why so many Swedish emigrants chose the Chisago Lakes as their home. He interviewed descendants of those early Swedish pioneers, read diaries of early residents, and sifted through local newspaper archives and documents at the Minnesota Historical Society.  

        The Chisago Lakes Reads group, offered through the Chisago Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, recently completed a study of Moberg’s books: The Emigrants, Unto a Good Land, The Settlers and Last Letter Home. Copies of the books are available through the Chisago Lakes Area Library, Chisago County Historical Center, Twinflower Books and Glädje in Lindstrom.

       “Please join us on Dec. 12 to learn the story of Karl Oskar and Kristina,” says Carla Norelius of the Friends of the Karl Oskar House. Contact friendsofkarloskarhouse@gmail.com for more information.