The Promised Land Review – Triumphant, A Must See

Details
Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film
Published on Thursday, 28 December 2023 14:42
Written by Janet Walker

The Promised Land, from Magnolia Pictures, presents an epic saga of one man to turn a barren, and unforgiving, land into his dream while he fights God, nature, and an evil land baron who all work against him.

The film opens with in a Danish poor house for veterans as Captain Ludvig Kahlen, played by Mads Mikkelsen, is polishing his medal. He arrives at the King's castle, and we see he is impressed as the king is heard. Soon he is presenting his plan to the Kings' advisors, Paulli, played by Sǿren Malling mocks him for his absurd, even pathetic idea.

The Teacher’s Lounge Review – Intriguing, Suspenseful, A Gripping Drama

Khalen persists and presents his terms: if he is successful, he will receive a nobleman's title, an estate, and servants. He arrives in the uninhabited and unfarmable region with nothing but a shovel and sheer willpower and refuses to yield to the harsh landscape, and finally finds dark, rich, farmable soil. As a retired captain, he remains commanding. Soon, he has received mysterious crates from Germany, which he refuses to tell anyone what he will be planting.

Soon he meets up with the local priest, Anton Eklung, played by Gustav Lindh who introduces him to a couple, Ann Barbara, played by Amanda Collin and her husband, Johannes Eriksen, played by Morten Jee Andersen, and provides him a few workers to help him as he begins his quest. Soon they are set upon by an orphan, Anmai Mus, played by Melina Hagberg, who, like Khalen, decides this is her place, and plants herself, until he relents.

He is soon visited by the message couriers for his noble neighbor Frederik de Schinkel, played by Simon Bennebjerg, and is invited to dinner. We understand de Schinkel has wealth, and with wealth, he is untouchable, and so everything about him is extreme. When he rages, he rapes or murders his female servants, when he wants anything, he takes it and want he want now is for Kahlen to either work for him as a tenant farmer or die and he will stop at nothing to prevent his success.

Memory Review – Palpable Emotion, Strong Story Driven Performances

 Through this first dinner, Kahlen finds a confident in the castle in Edel Helene, de Schinkel's cousin, the daughter of the Norwegian king, played by Kristine Kujath Thorp, who is more than smitten with him and has made it a point introduce him, via letters, to her family.

As Kahlen continues to make progress, surviving the harsh winters, and unyielding conditions, with an against all odds determination he is continually confronted by both de Schinkel and Bondo, played by Thomas G Bagrielsson de Schinkel's advisor to give up, leave, quit, run.

As tensions escalate and violence erupts, the singularly focused Kahlen is forced to decide just how much he is willing to risk.

The Promised Land is a triumphant epic of man verses man and the elements in an against all odds powerful and impressive historical drama.

Reacher S2 Review – Heightened Suspense, Strong Story Driven Performances

The ensemble cast led by Mads Mikkelsen, embody their characters with skill and finesse, and none more than Simon Bennebjerg who has taken this role as the unhinged nobleman and created a memorable screen character that will resonate.

The skill of the director, Nikolaj Arcel, and the film's editor, Olivier Bugge Coutté, to weave together a seamless presentation that holds the attention throughout as we wait for the next inevitable injury with anticipation.

The Promised Land held its World Premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival and has been selected at 2023 Telluride Film Festival and 2023 Toronto International Film Festival as well as AFI Fest 2023.

The Promised Land, is a big screen must see and, will be released in theaters February 2, 2024. See it.

Immediate Family Review – Great Songs, Great Stories, A Must See

Country: Denmark.

Language: Danish with English subtitles.

Runtime: 127minutes.

Director: Nikolaj Arcel.

Producer: Louise Vesth.

Writer: Nikolaj Arcel, Anders Thomas Jensen.

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Gustav Lindh, Amanda Collin, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Magnus Krepper, Soren Malling, Morten Hee Andersen, Jacob Lohmann, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Felix Kramer, Morten Burian, Lise Risom Olsen, Finn Nielsen, Simon Bennebjerg, Martin Feifel, Lasse Steen, Melina Hagberg, Joen Hojerslev, Patricia Slauf, Nanna Koppel, Anna Filippa Hjarne, Morten Buus, Laura Bilgrau Eskild-Jensen, Arved Friese, Jan Jankovsky, Olaf Hojgaard, Michael Brostrup, Jiri Konvalinka, Ivo Hanel, Nikol Kouklova, Josef Berousek, Hans Christian Lundgren.

Haute News

Haute Tease

  • Deadpool 2 - A Wild, Over The Top, Ride Through A Mad Man’s Mind

    Deadpool 2, from Marvel Entertainment and 20th Century Fox, picks up the sequel as Wade Wilson, Deadpool, combining his crime fighting, heroic and super mutant powers with a little slice of normal, set out to rid the world of really bad guys.

     

  • CURLS Hair Care Rocks The Rolling Stone Lounge with Blow Out Bash

    Mahisha Dellinger, CURLS Hair Care founder, celebrated a decade of curl power with a star studded blow out bash at The Rolling Stone Lounge in Hollywood during which she announced the acquisition of the KYNX Hair Care collection expanding the CURLS brand to include type four hair, and bringing this dynamic product, KYNX, into the CURLS family.

     

  • Gifts Guaranteed to Please a Trend-Loving Teen

    Let’s be honest, today’s trend-focused teens can be hard to please. Sure, well-intended gifters can play it safe and go the gift card route but, in addition to these cards being decidedly boring to receive, they’re also easily lost and often forgotten.

     

  • 7 Prisoners Review – Intense Drama Exposes Human Trafficking

    7 Prisoners, a Netflix original program, presents a twist on the story of human trafficking as four young men are duped into believing they are receiving employment, only to be held captive and forced into slave labor.

     

  • Tens of Thousands Feared Dead, Missing, After Massive Quakes Strike Turkey

    The death toll in Turkey's devastating earthquake continues to rise and is expected to reach upwards of 10,000 in the aftermath of a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that was followed by several significant aftershocks and felt across the region.

     

  • Benjamin Griveaux, l’hubris brisé

    Les révélations à caractère sexuel ayant poussé Benjamin Griveaux à retirer sa candidature aux élections municipales à Paris en mars prochain offre aussi au Président de la République l’opportunité d’écarter sans frais un homme convaincu de son destin. Explications.