Film Notes

‘The Promised Land’ Review: Mads Mikkelsen Smolders Magnificently in Nikolaj Arcel’s Gripping Historical Epic.

The Danish director and star of the Oscar-nominated 'A Royal Affair' reteam on this Nordic Western about a low-born military man determined to cultivate the wild Jutland heath against daunting odds.

While The Promised Land sounds more subdued than the original Danish title, Bastarden (The Bastard), there’s nothing tame or prosaic about Nikolaj Arcel’s brawny historical drama. Reuniting the director with Mads Mikkelsen after their compelling 2012 collaboration, A Royal Affair, the new film shows once again that period pieces can be vigorous, powerful and emotionally stirring, this one enriched by themes of class, racism, sexual abuse, labor exploitation and chosen families. It’s a handsome production that displays all the virtues of assured old-fashioned storytelling without a trace of stodge.

While Mikkelsen has carved out a solid career in international movies since turning heads as a charismatic Bond villain in Casino Royale, films from his native Denmark, like The Hunt, Another Round and this one, continue to show the actor’s range to best advantage. Playing the illegitimate son of a nobleman and a maid determined to elevate his status, he brings magnetic stoicism, imposing physicality and soulful introspection to a character who might have been at home in a John Ford saga.

Mikkelsen plays Ludvig Kahlen, who defied his humble roots by rising to the rank of captain and being decorated for his military service in mid-18th-century Denmark. A proud man with drive and ambition, he submits a proposal to cultivate the barren Jutland heath and start a settlement there, a potentially lucrative project dear to the King that has defeated many men before Ludvig.

The bean-counters at the Royal Treasury scoff at the idea of pouring more money into what they see as a lost cause. But Kahlen offers to finance the venture with his soldier’s pension, asking for a noble title and an estate with servants in return. Given that the bureaucrats see no chance of success, they agree, figuring they can keep the King happy with zero outlay.

With nothing but a horse, a tent, a pistol to protect himself from bandits and a few tools to hack away at the hard ground, which is believed to be nothing but sand and rocks covered in coarse heather, Ludvig sets up camp and weathers the harsh elements. Eventually, he finds soil, which can be mixed with clay from the seaside to grow potatoes, a crop he has imported from Germany.

But from the start, he makes a formidable enemy in Frederik De Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg), the county judge who added the “De” to his name to make it sound more aristocratic. A brutal landowner who works his servants like animals and rapes any maid of his choosing, De Schinkel takes advantage of the remoteness from Copenhagen to disregard the monarchy and claim the territory as his own. When Ludvig stands up to him, insisting that it’s the King’s land, he impresses De Schinkel’s cousin Edel (Kristine Kujath Thorp), who is being forced, due to her family’s financial straits, to marry Frederik.

De Schinkel makes it difficult for Ludvig to find the laborers necessary to prepare the land for planting. But a young pastor (Anton Eklund) brings him a runaway couple, Johannes (Morten Hee Andersen) and Ann Barbara (Amanda Collin), who have escaped De Schinkel’s cruelty; Ludvig agrees to provide them with work and shelter, despite the legal risk. He also strikes a deal to employ the outlaws living in the woods, including an orphaned young Roma girl, Anmai Mus (Melina Hagberg), disparagingly referred to as a “darkling” and believed by the superstitious Danish peasants to bring bad luck.

Based on Ide Jessen’s 2020 historical novel The Captain and Ann Barbara, the script by Arcel and Anders Thomas Jensen lays out the exposition with brisk efficiency and incisive character definition. The film draws us into the mounting challenges faced by Ludvig as De Schinkel and his cronies play increasingly dirty, enlisting a group of murderous thugs to help when Kahlen begins making progress. A heartless display of vindictiveness by the landowner at the harvest ball is horrifying in its barbarism, underscoring the petulant tyrant’s belief that he can make his own laws.

Alongside the escalating battle of wills between Kahlen and De Schinkel, the writers trace the delicate arc of Ludwig and Ann Barbara’s relationship, which starts out as master and housekeeper but evolves into a deeper alliance as circumstances erase the lines between them. The spirited Anmai Mus also adopts them as surrogate parents, slowly winning over Ludvig, which leads to tough choices when settlers sent by the King balk at her presence.

Collin shows real fire in the role of a woman who has endured degrading treatment and vowed never to submit to it again, while Mikkelsen brings solemn depths to a taciturn man whose plan to get ahead is obstructed almost at every turn. Even when responding with burning indignation to De Schinkel’s most unscrupulous tactics, Mikkelsen’s performance remains measured, with Ludvig’s emotions largely internalized to great effect.

Arcel directs with a sure hand that balances the poignant strain of an outsider family struggling to stay together with the treachery of an antagonist whose ruthlessness has no limits, yielding tense action just as Ludvig appears to have succeeded in his endeavors.

Elements that could have lurched into melodrama — Ludvig’s flickers of romance with Edel, for instance, which complicates his understanding with Ann Barbara — are reined in by the disciplined direction and strong ensemble, and even if the villainy at times risks becoming overripe, it makes the payback all the more satisfying. This is a big Nordic Western that maintains its gravitas throughout as reality constantly reminds Ludvig that hard work and honesty are not always rewarded.

Cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk’s widescreen compositions give imposing weight to the rugged landscape; Jette Lehmann’s production design points up the contrast between the humble structures built on the desolate heath and the pompous grandeur of De Schinkel’s residence, Hald Manor; and Dan Romer’s robust orchestral score fuels the film’s epic sweep. The Promised Land is a terrific story driven by skillful writing and strong performances. There’s an art to bringing vitality and modernity to historical drama, and Arcel shows a firm grasp of it.

By David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter, September 1, 2023 

The Promised Land: Nordic demi-western is powered along by Mads Mikkelsen’s rugged charisma

Nikolaj Arcel’s film, inspired by real events, ploughs a furrow as a rough-hewn costumed adventure.

Nikolaj Arcel’s film premiered in Venice as Bastard, a title that chimes more harmoniously with this muscular romp’s dirty fingernails, unruly earth and hard-hearted historical toffs. Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) is a formidable retired army captain of low birth seeking title and legitimacy by colonising the punishing, barren heath of Jutland, a wilderness characterised bywolves and frozen ground that is home to Romani people.

“The heath cannot be tamed,” warns one puffed-up nobleman.

Kahlen’s royally decreed mission carries little weight with the villainous local landowner, Frederik de Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg), whose despotismmakes Barry Lyndon’s Lord Bullington seem positively amiable.

De Schinkel’s cartoonish flair for bullying – including his self-important insistence on the insertion of “de” into his surname – coalesces into brutal torture sequences and increasingly unhinged lording.

This handsome Nordic demi-western, inspired by real events and adapted from Ida Jessen’s 2020 novel, The Captain and Ann Barbara, is powered along by Mikkelsen’s rugged charisma and various rustic and maggoty scene partners, including the married runaway serfs Ann Barbara (Amanda Collin, quietly expressive) and Johannes (Morten Hee Andersen), and the self-possessed Romani orphan Anmai Mus (Hagberg Melina). The slow, tricky thaw between the splendidly isolated Kahlen and the youngster is one of the movie’s great pleasures, an antidote to the surrounding savagery.

Hubris and tubers make for potent bedfellows in Arcel and Anders Thomas Jensen’s old-school, sturdily structured screenplay. Edel (Kristine Kujath Thorp), the caged-bird cousin whom De Schinkel hopes to marry, batting her eyelashes at Mikkelsen’s captain, makes for an agreeable soapy subplot in a pleasingly tactile picture.

The anti-immigrant and Romani sentiment expressed by Danes in 1755, although tinged with superstition, sounds eerily familiar. Mostly, though, The Promised Land, in common with its hero, ploughs a furrow as a rough-hewn costumed adventure.

Tara Brady, Thu Feb 15 2024 

What you thought about The Promised Land

Film Responses

Collated Response Comments

111 members and guests attended this screening. We received a total of 58 responses which gives a Film Score of 4.59 and a 53% response rate. Again many thanks for taking the time to let us know what you thought of the film. All of your comments are collected below:-

“I thought the Promised Land was excellent.  Probably one of the best films I have seen for a while.  Excellent acting and very though provoking. Thank you, committee, great choice!

“The title quite threw me for a time, as I thought that Bastarden worked well. But as the film progressed the English title biblically allusive as it reflects bending of one's will toward destiny. It's a Nordic western epic mixing some strange beauty and striking violence which erupts in lawless frontiers. Reminded me of Godland in tone and themes – almost an epic with elements of period melodramas, historical drama and survival thrillers. Sure the blood flows darkly and flames light scenes; bright candelabras illuminate the intimidating manor dinner, weaker lamplight slices through the foggy night and a raging fire on the field as Ludvig and his outlaw workers burn the heather. So we have cruel nature, but also de Schinkel, a dandy sadist gaining pleasure from torture and rape; terrifically played. Bastarden succinctly spells out the stain of Ludvig's illegitimacy and a Sisyphean struggle to gain respect and acceptance. He has a striking ability to express deep wells of emotion with only his eyes, communicated in glances and meaningful looks. He battles the dirt, texture and topography of a landscape with his bare hands, sharply shown with aerial shots. The land seemed brutally indifferent to Ludvig's sweat and toil but he drives on remorselessly. The film's women occasionally equal the male capacity for bloody excess, yet bring a pragmatism to life and death, particularly the graphic killing by Ann-Barbara, wounded yet powerful; Anmai Mus is charming despite her brutalised life. The ending is a sigh of relief; as Ludvig has learned the lesson late, as he finally realises that there is more to life than status and noble titles, thanks to the women around him. A stirring film – thanks for showing it”.

“A man in a white hat. A man in a black hat. I am eight years old again and begging my parents to be allowed to stay up to watch the Saturday evening western. Does it matter that the white hat is too grimly stoic and unyielding or that the black hat is too gleefully psychopathic? It does not, let the Manichaean battle of good and evil begin! Except we are in the 21st century so it cannot be quite that simple, in the end, Ludvig's accomplices pay a heavy price for his pride and obduracy, though Ann Barbara is eventually saved in an unlikely and hurried finale that I doubt anyone objected to. The whole is played out on the beautifully shot heath, which owes something to Hardy's Egdon - a place of 'ancient permanence' and is redolent of the prairie wastes of the oaters, as, of course is much of the scenario. 'High Noon', 'Shane', 'Rio Bravo', 'Once upon a time in the west', 'Ride the high country', 'The man who shot Liberty Valance', 'The man from Laramie', etc, etc but for me maybe 'Unforgiven' most. Flawed but marvellous, should probably be 'good' but my eight-year-old self is marking it 'excellent'.

“This was not an enjoyable film for me. However it was beautifully photographed, and Mikkelsen played the 'bastard' with the steely determination to show he was 'better than them' to perfection. The three other main characters, De Shinkel, Ann Barbra and the young Anmai Mus were also played very convincingly. Life was tough in the 18 century everywhere and the film helped remind me how lucky we are to be living here today”.

“Really enjoyed this rather bleak but thoroughly epic film that touches upon so many different topics: power, resilience, intolerance and love. Perhaps the most compelling aspect is how we are shaped by our past and how this impacts our aspirations and actions in life. An outstanding performance by the ever-reliable Mads Mikkelsen and fabulous cinematography capturing the Danish landscape through the seasons”.

“Vanitas vanitatum. Is all ambition vanity? Obsession? The cost of his obsession immense. And in the end…Brilliantly acted, filmed, produced… also a shocking indictment of power, and consequences of not being secure in that power.

And in the end… ambition renounced and love emerges. A sort of happy ending, but at what cost? His facial expression showed it all”.

“Incredibly absorbing film. Obsessions, cruelty and inane, entitled nobles are still with us. The potato did well”.

“Riveting”. 

“This was an excellent film, very moving. Thank you for showing this film”.

“Brutal but excellent – I would have done the same”.

“Loved it”. “Very good”. “Amazing”.

“Excellent portrayal of the period”.

“Loved it! Proper evil villain. Heroic goodies just right”.

“Wow! Blimey! Interesting. Bit of a stretch of imagination at the end”.

“Powerful movie”.

“Emotional – probably the best this year”.

“Magnificent, amazing cinematography. It was like looking at a Dutch masterpiece throughout”.

“Raw and brutal – nothing held back and all the better for it. A watercolour of cruelty and love mixed together on a blasted heath. Excellent indeed!”

“Excellent – a bit surprised where the house came from. But very good. Desire…. satisfactorily fulfilling”

“This was absolutely superb. I loved it and it was beautiful and haunting and very moving”.

“An every day story of Danish country folk”.

“Great actors and actresses; complicated story BUT happy ending”.

“Great performances, epic filmography. Could have been shorter”.

“But was on Netflix”.

“Mixed emotions about this film – quite shocking but well filmed and held your attention. What a life!”

“Impressive story well-acted – pleased it ended well for him”.

“How one mans obsession can lead to such destruction. The captain and the greedy landowner held my attention all through”.

“Jean de Florette avec de pomme de terre. A sad lesson in how getting what we want isn’t always a good thing. Beautifully shot, but painfully violent and possibly a little overlong. Overall, a powerful work”.

“Too dark and brooding. Excellent acting”.

“It is obviously a good film but I did not enjoy it at all- too depressing, dark and cruel. But I suppose they were dark times”.