The Promised Land

In 1755, retired soldier Ludwig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) decides to attempt the impossible - to cultivate the Danish Heath. This is a bleak and infertile wilderness which produces nothing but gorse and heather (though there are forests nearby, for some reason). He hopes to win honour and renown thereby.

Kahlen builds his house, and collects a motley crew of workers, including a priest, a pair of runaway serfs, and some lawless folk akin to gypsies. He sort-of adopts a gypsy girl. With much labour, he clears some land, then unveils his secret weapon - the potato.

Unfortunately, he runs foul of a sadistic local landowner (a wonderfully sinister performance by Simon Bennebjerg), who considers himself above the law and has no problem with violence.

The film follows Kahlen through one growing season, at the end of which his feud with the landowner reaches a bloody climax.

The epitaph on screen seems to suggest that this is based on a true story, but I don't know if that's the case.

The performances are excellent throughout; the landscape is compelling, and the cinematography superb.

Possibly one of the most engaging and powerful European movies of the year. Great storytelling, acting, directing, cinematography, art direction, costumes, make up.

This film uses all the tools of the western genre. Wide landscapes, settlers developing harsh lands, the fight against greed, injustice, cruelty and impunity of the ruling class, a stubborn loner who learns to follow his heart and old vs. New technologies, in this case agricultural, settlers fighting rich landowners, racial prejudices and of course a showdown with a powerful obligatory scene.

For the longest time I have been waiting for a period piece set in Europe with the look and feel of epic westerns. There have been a few efforts so far and they all failed on me in one part or another. This one could be leading the pack. Do yourself a favor and go see it on a very, very big screen.

The Promised Land (2023)

Mads Mikkelsen is an actor who needs no praise and yet every time I see him in a film, my level of admiration grows even more. The sense of honor and dignity are so profound in this man as he commands a powerful on-screen presence in every scene. Asides from knowing that this was a historical drama, I didn't even bother to read the synopsis as I had faith in the lead actor. Oh and if you love potatoes, you are going to enjoy this even more.

The Promised Land is a true story of Ludvig Kahlen, a man determined on building a settlement in the Danish wilderness in order to attain wealth and honor. Being an ex-soldier he will use his meager savings in an attempt to make this dream a reality but before long, he will encounter more than a handful of obstacles imposed by a wealthy landowner who is determined to prevent Ludvig from achieving his goal. Despite taking place in Denmark, this film can somewhat be classified as a Historical-Western due to it's use of wide shots, beautiful nature, a respectable stoic protagonist and a sense of perpetual struggle against oppressors.

When you think about it, the historical event in question is quite insignificant on a large scale and if not for Mads Mikkelsen, this film wouldn't have existed. Thankfully it was made and asides from Mads' captivating performance, the rest of the cast came to put in a collective effort that made me genuinely care about the struggle. The cinematography is simple yet beautiful and the well used score manages to both accentuate a rural setting and pull on the emotional strings. Overall, a well made film that leaves a pleasant aftertaste and if you are a fellow fan of Mads, you won't be disappointed.

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The Promised Land takes place in 1700's Denmark and tells the story of a retired military officer who wants to settle and farm in an inhospitable area where no one else has been able to survive. He has visions of making a great success, and being greatly rewarded by the King and other noble people. That is just the vaguest outline of the story but the film goes deep into the characters involved and becomes unexpectedly dark, much darker than I had imagined. I will not say more so as not to spoil it, but this is a truly great movie. The main character is played to perfection by Mads Mickelson. The associated actors Amanda Collin, Kristine Thorp, and the young child actor Melina Hagberg are very much up to the task of making their characters come alive. A great film that I could not recommend more.

Watched the movie twice. The first one was without subtitles cause I really wanted to feel and see the whole thing without being distracted by subtitles.

Such an incredible movie with exceptional acting of mads mikkelsen.

The little girl's acting was so natural and beautiful. The storyline, cinematography, acting, everything is well done. This movie easily entered my top 10 movies of all time. The last scene where Ludvig is sitting all alone eating, his eyes spoke more than any words could ever do and it made me teared up. Mads' acting ability keeps blowing my mind with each of his "danish" movies.