Our take
In The Promised Land, director Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) and Mads Mikkelsen reunite to create another intense, enjoyable drama based on true historical events. Mikkelsen is reliably gripping as Captain Ludwig Kahlen, but it’s his back-and-forths with the diabolical landowner Frederik Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg) that are the standout scenes here. And though The Promised Land resembles modern Westerns in its macho standoffs and sweeping backdrops, it has a surprising and satisfying feminist bent to it. It’s a historical epic that doubles as a revenge thriller and succeeds in both cases.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Cannes
1 nom
The story
Denmark, 1755. Captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer a Danish heath reputed to be uncultivable, with an impossible goal: to establish a colony in the name of the king, in exchange for a royal title. A single-minded ambition that the ruthless lord of the region will relentlessly seek to put down. Kahlen's fate hangs in the balance: will his endevours bring him wealth and honour, or cost him his life...?
Elsewhere
"The kind of ravishing, rousing epic we don’t really get much of anymore."
— Bilge Ebiri
"It's a wonder that "The Promised Land" works as well as it does."
— Sheila O'Malley
1700s, Denmark. A military captain is determined to cultivate a patch of moorland, but haughty bureaucrats and one cruel landowner stand in his way.
The historical context of the film, and the surprising importance of the humble potato.
Never cross Mads Mikkelsen, especially when he’s trying to prove a point!
The details
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
