Jerusalem

Rebounding from the commercial failure of Smilla's Sense of Snow, Swedish director Bille August returns to the familiar terrain of his earlier films (Pelle the Conqueror, The Best Intentions) in this sweeping turn-of-the-19th century generational epic. Based on the novel by Selma Lagerlöf, Jersusalem traces the story of a pair of troubled lovers, Gertrud (Maria Bonnevie) and Ingmar (Ulf Friberg) whose plans to wed upon Ingmar's successful assumption of the family farm are dashed when a charismatic millenarian preacher urges the Swedish peasants to give up their worldly goods and travel to the Holy Land of Jersusalem, where thy will await the imminent Judgment Day. Through a fateful series of events, Ingmar and Gertrud are separated, the former stuck in a loveless marriage of convenience, the latter whisked off with the deluded faithful to Jerusalem...until Ingmar makes his own determined pilgrimage. Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Film, Jerusalem--which also stars Max Von Sydow and Olympia Dukakis--is an exquisitely filmed, dramatically engaging, and solidly acted film which should find a wide audience among film buffs and those who just love a good three-hankie yarn. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)