by Alex Billington
October 18, 2026
“We can do it.” “We did it.” Another film flying under the radar at fall film festivals this year is a Norwegian naturalistic film titled Growth of the Soil, based on the book of the same name by acclaimed Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland (of The Beautiful Country, When Bubbles Burst, In Order of Disappearance, Out Stealing Horses). It first premiered at TIFF and I caught up with it at the 2026 Warsaw Film Festival. It’s one of many new films that I’ve seen recently about women being given a chance to find their freedom & agency in a patriarchal world. Moland’s movie seems to be Norway’s version of Godland (about surviving in harsh nature) + Train Dreams (about a simple man witnessing the changes of society during the 20th century), with a dash of A Different Man thrown in during the second half as well. Pretty good overall. Utterly gorgeous to look at, every single frame. One of these films where I think how did they shoot this?! I am in awe. Did they build that little house from scratch? Did they walk up a mountain every day to film it? How did they make it all so authentic with all the old clothes and tools and untouched land? Ultimately, I think I admire this film and what it’s showing us, however I still enjoyed following this story of Isak & Inger.
Growth of the Soil is the latest cinematic work from Norwegian filmmaker Hans Petter Moland, his 12th feature film so far. His work is at its very best when he’s making humble, naturalistic films about humanity’s connection with the land, with the Earth itself that we’re all a part of, especially because the wilderness in Norway is so spectacular and unique. Growth of the Soil is adapted from Knut Hamsun’s novel of the same name, however during the intro the film Hans explained to the audience to forget that book and not try to connect his film with it. He adapted it in his own way. The story follows a quiet man named Isak Sellanraa (starring Herbert Nordrum) who in the early 20th century decides to build a home right on the side of a mountain in Northern Norway. Not long after staking his plot, he encounters a roving woman named Inger (co-starring Asta Kamma August) with a cleft lip who decides to settle in with him and participate in this adventure of building a new home and a new life in the wilderness. They soon start to have feelings for each other and pop out a few kids to help with the farming. However, it’s not all peaceful. Eventually government men come by to figure out how to deal with his real estate. And Inger also ends up in some trouble as well.
On one hand, this film is about connecting with the soil, growing a life in the wilderness and struggling to deal with nature. It’s a beautifully shot tale of one man living “off grid” (as we say nowadays) and making a life disconnected from the rest of humanity. Which is quite enticing and inspiring to see. On the other hand, the “soil” that is being grown in this film is the Sellanraa family. It’s about growing children and a family within nature, and how to nurture and grow together with someone. Just like with nature itself, there are always unpredictable changes in the weather, there are moments where everything will fall apart, there will be good years and bad years, good harvests and bad harvests, but to truly grow and thrive you must strive and persevere no matter what. Hans Petter Moland very subtly, very nicely depicts this in this film with his attention to detail not only in the cinematography, but also in the quiet, humble performances from both Herbert Nordrum and Asta Kamma August. While their chemistry is genuine, they’re still at odds with each other in many ways. And throughout most of the film I kept wondering if they secretly hate each other, if they’re both destined to always be alone and we’re just waiting to get to that point in the story / their lives. However, it never descends into that kind of pessimism and steers clear of too much darkness, reminding us again that sometimes crops go strong, while other years you might have to do extra work to make ends meet
I really do appreciate where this film goes and what it’s doing and what’s going on throughout with Isak & Inger. It’s covering so much territory in trying to comment on not only growing a family, but how the world changes, how people change over time, how everything develops & moves along even if you don’t want it to, how the soil grows year after year. Even though it can be emotionally intense, there’s something very nicely calming about Hans Petter Moland’s films when they’re about nature and the outdoors and how we connect with the land. Maybe this film will “grow” on me more with time, too… I will also reiterate that I believe this film should’ve been in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival this year. I have no idea how they didn’t play it. It’s better than MOST of what I saw during Venice, and this filmmaker has played tons of fests before, he easily should’ve been back at every fall fest. There’s a quiet contemplation hidden within, which is much more powerful than many of the more melodramatic social realism dramas I see at festivals nowadays. And above all else, there’s a real soul to this film. It understands the power of nature, and also understands the power of humanity, and how these two powers connect in special ways. Let nature teach us how to grow.
Alex’s WIFF 2026 Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
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