text_a: -lrb- two -rrb- fairly dull -- contrasting and interlocking stories about miserable scandinavian settlers in 18th-century canada , and yuppie sailboaters in the here and now .
text_b: the two leads are almost good enough to camouflage the dopey plot , but so much naturalistic small talk , delivered in almost muffled exchanges , eventually has a lulling effect .