Ron Howard identified Jan Troell’s 1971 Swedish film *The Emigrants* as a major influence on his development as a director. The film impressed him by showing that cinema could create deep emotional involvement across language barriers, using subtitles and human observation rather than relying on English dialogue or conventional Hollywood spectacle.

Howard particularly admired the film’s naturalistic depiction of Swedish migrants struggling with physical hardship, emotional isolation and cultural displacement on the prairie. He praised the performances of Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann, as well as Troell’s long-lens photography, handheld camerawork and understated staging, saying he watched the film repeatedly because it changed how he approached directing scenes.