Multiple Academy award winner Gene Hackman plays a lonely farmer named Zandy Allan. Zandy agrees to a financial arrangement for a mail order bride which in the mid 1800's was not unheard of but not common to the area either so Zandy wanted to try and be discrete about the arrangement. Into town comes a relatively attractive young woman of child bearing years named Hannah Lund who was originally born in Scandanavia but was more recently residing in Minnesota. Their initial meeting out on a street corner in the middle of town is strange but considering what each of these two strangers wanted out of the arrangement I could understand what each expected.

It is not very long before the audience realizes that Zandy Allan's many years of living off of his land alone and without anyone to talk to when he crawled into his bed each night, he would have difficulty relating to another person sharing his modest home, let alone sharing his bed. Zandy believes he has not found himself a wife to share a home with, but contrary to the way most people (male or female) would think, Zandy believed he had purchased and in fact owned Hannah who was expected to do his bidding, cook his meals, clean his clothes, and most certainly bear his children. These children would eventually be expected to help him maintain his farm as he grew older and weaker in the fields, and his bride Hannah was more of a piece of property than a life partner, thus the movie title Zandy's Bride.

I really enjoyed the films scenic emphasis on the land and the broad countryside, and how Zandy Allan's way of thinking was turned around from his concept of initially owning Hannah his mail order bride, to eventually appreciating Hannah as the woman he would fall truly in love with. This change of heart was prominently shown when Zandy takes his horse and buggy into the town of San Francisco, he gets himself a haircut and a shave, and then he goes into the local general store and in attempt of unselfishness proceeds to purchase a brand new expensive state of the art wood burning cast iron stove with four (4) elements. He takes the stove un-assembled onto his wagon and trudges the tens of miles home with his thoughtful gift that he assumes will impress Hannah that he has changed and that he does want for her to have an easier life living with him and raising "their" children.

Life in the mid 1850's was by no means easy, and Zandy's bride tells two peoples' story living in a remote area of the California mountains. The new husband and wife coming from different upbringings and different expectations somehow forge together and they find a way to appreciate what the other brings to their mail order bride relationship. Gene Hackman and Liv Ullman were both fantastic and made this hard living historical film well worth watching.

I rate the film an 8 out 10 and I wouldn't be surprised if in the years to come the Criterion Collection pick it up as a new release added to their extensive but exclusive library of noteworthy pictures.

Zandy Allan (Gene Hackman) is a rancher living hard in the Sierra Nevada. He answers an ad for marriage. It gets off to a bad start. Hannah Lund (Liv Ullmann) is 32 but lied about being 25. He's a brute and only cares about getting a son from her. His father is just as brutal with his mom.

Gene Hackman is a versatile actor. In this one, he's a male chauvinist and a general callous brute. The rape scene is actually quite shocking coming from him. Still, he's not portrayed as a villain which does leave me conflicted about this movie. I'm ambivalent about the character and thereby the movie itself. It's not a feel good movie but it's not a feel sad movie either. Director Jan Troell is Swedish.

Gene Hackman was so prolific that even though he has retired from acting for over a decade. You can still find a new performance from him even if it is some old, obscure film.

This is a bleak, dark but vacant Scandi-drama decades before the term came in vogue with crime mysteries.

Gene Hackman is Zandy, a rugged rancher in the Big Sur. This is an isolated and backward community. A wilderness. He has ordered a mail order bride from Scandinavia. The main reason is that he wants sons who would take over the ranch from him before he gets too old.

When his wife Hannah arrives he effectively treats her as a slave and even forces himself on her. This is a story of how it was in the old days in the 19th century.

Liv Ullmann plays Hanna and she does not take it lying down and is determined to turn the farm into a home. Turn Zandy into someone respectable.

Susan Tyrell plays a floozy, Maria that Zandy seems to have had a past dalliance with. Zandy is wary of her, this is a clannish community with hints of inbreeding. Zandy does not want bad blood hence why he has got a wife from the outside.

There is an outdoor barbecue scene where we learn a little about this isolated community and also Zandy's family life.

If you think Zandy is bad, he is a progressive compared to his father. Zandy's mother is very much aware what Hannah is going through. She knows how hard life and her own husband has been to her.

Zandy and Hannah resolve to make their marriage work and she rewards him with issue. In turn Zandy softens a little, he gets her nice clothes and even a stove from San Francisco.

The film is a slow burn drama but it does not have much action. For those of us, myself included whose only experience of The Big Sur is the coastal route to LA to San Francisco or vice-versa. This is an insight to a real community that once lived beyond those roads.

The film is rewarded with wonderful photography but it feels empty despite the rich performances.