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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
