In 18th-century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen)—a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero—sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself. This beautiful but forbidding area also happens to be under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power. Struggling against the elements and local brigands, Kahlen is joined by a couple who have fled the clutches of the rapacious De Schinkel. As this group of misfits begins to build a small community in this inhospitable place, De Schinkel swears vengeance, and the confrontation between him and Kahlen promises to be as violent and intense as these two men.
Promised Land is available on Blu-ray and DVD on...
Promised Land is available on Blu-ray and DVD on...
- 4/28/2024
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Plot: In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen – a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero — sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself. This beautiful but forbidding area also happens to be under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power.
Review: You have heard the cliche “they don’t make them like they used to” countless times, but it fits perfectly when reviewing The Promised Land. An epic melodrama that combines elements of survival thrillers, westerns, period melodramas, and historical drama, The Promised Land is a stunning and stark look at one man’s quest to tame the harsh wilderness of the barren northern territory of Denmark while also...
Review: You have heard the cliche “they don’t make them like they used to” countless times, but it fits perfectly when reviewing The Promised Land. An epic melodrama that combines elements of survival thrillers, westerns, period melodramas, and historical drama, The Promised Land is a stunning and stark look at one man’s quest to tame the harsh wilderness of the barren northern territory of Denmark while also...
- 2/17/2024
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
Inspired by a true story about a retired 18th-century army captain turned farmer, Nikolaj Arcel’s brash drama is entertaining, if a little preposterous
There’s old-fashioned entertainment value in this tough, if faintly preposterous Nordic western, a muscular, brash and well photographed piece of work from Danish director Nikolaj Arcel, co-written with Anders Thomas Jensen. It’s adapted from the 2020 bestseller The Captain and Ann Barbara by Ida Jessen, which is itself loosely inspired by a true story from Denmark’s history about the retired 18th-century army captain turned farmer Ludwig von Kahlen.
Kahlen got royal permission to cultivate the lawless and desolate Jutland heath, a theoretically lucrative adventure which would reward only the hardiest and most fanatically committed. Mads Mikkelsen plays Kahlen with granite-faced imperturbability and the kind of silent strength that makes him a Euro Gary Cooper. This movie dreams up romantic and dramatic subplots for this...
There’s old-fashioned entertainment value in this tough, if faintly preposterous Nordic western, a muscular, brash and well photographed piece of work from Danish director Nikolaj Arcel, co-written with Anders Thomas Jensen. It’s adapted from the 2020 bestseller The Captain and Ann Barbara by Ida Jessen, which is itself loosely inspired by a true story from Denmark’s history about the retired 18th-century army captain turned farmer Ludwig von Kahlen.
Kahlen got royal permission to cultivate the lawless and desolate Jutland heath, a theoretically lucrative adventure which would reward only the hardiest and most fanatically committed. Mads Mikkelsen plays Kahlen with granite-faced imperturbability and the kind of silent strength that makes him a Euro Gary Cooper. This movie dreams up romantic and dramatic subplots for this...
- 2/14/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The Promised Land Movie Review Rating:
Star Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, and Gustav Lindh.
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
The Promised Land Movie Review Is Out! (Picture Credit: IMDb)
What’s Good: Having another collaboration between Arcel and Mikkelsen feels right after what they did in A Royal Affair a decade ago.
What’s Bad: The Promised Land loses some steam towards the end and comes to a rushed resolution.
Loo Break: The Promised Land is engaging, so you will want to see what happens next in the story.
Watch or Not?: Yes, this is a must-watch film, especially if you are a fan of history or Mads Mikkelsen’s work as an actor.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 127 Minutes.
User Rating:
Historical films have that kind of aura around them that makes them more film-like than many others. There is...
Star Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, and Gustav Lindh.
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
The Promised Land Movie Review Is Out! (Picture Credit: IMDb)
What’s Good: Having another collaboration between Arcel and Mikkelsen feels right after what they did in A Royal Affair a decade ago.
What’s Bad: The Promised Land loses some steam towards the end and comes to a rushed resolution.
Loo Break: The Promised Land is engaging, so you will want to see what happens next in the story.
Watch or Not?: Yes, this is a must-watch film, especially if you are a fan of history or Mads Mikkelsen’s work as an actor.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 127 Minutes.
User Rating:
Historical films have that kind of aura around them that makes them more film-like than many others. There is...
- 2/5/2024
- by Nelson Acosta
- KoiMoi
Glowering from atop his mountainous cheekbones, Mads Mikkelsen cuts a hard, intimidating figure in the The Promised Land. Directed by Nikolaj Arcel from a screenplay co-written by the prolific Anders Thomas Jensen, the film casts Mikkelsen as real-life 18-century war veteran Ludvig Kahlen, a proud man of humble origins who hopes to establish the first viable homestead in Denmark’s Jutland heath. Many others have tried to cultivate the barren lowland in the name of the king, but none have succeeded. “The world’s asshole,” one man calls this no man’s land roamed by outlaws and outcasts. One look into Kahlen’s eyes is to know that he’ll succeed at transforming the heath into farmable land.
In large part for the way it paints morality in black and white, The Promised Land is an old-fashioned western, and what it lacks in nuance it more than makes up for in showmanship.
In large part for the way it paints morality in black and white, The Promised Land is an old-fashioned western, and what it lacks in nuance it more than makes up for in showmanship.
- 2/1/2024
- by Steven Scaife
- Slant Magazine
You do not fuck with Mads Mikkelsen.
There are a number of takeaways to be had from The Promised Land, the excellent prestige drama-cum-bloody payback flick straight outta Denmark. The rich in 18th century Scandinavia were as entitled, immoral, and sociopathic as they are in 21st century everywhere. Just because you’ve fought for a country doesn’t mean it will give you a fair shake. Few things fill a big screen better than a grand, historical epic brimming with sweeping vistas, action-packed set pieces, and heroic men and women fighting for love,...
There are a number of takeaways to be had from The Promised Land, the excellent prestige drama-cum-bloody payback flick straight outta Denmark. The rich in 18th century Scandinavia were as entitled, immoral, and sociopathic as they are in 21st century everywhere. Just because you’ve fought for a country doesn’t mean it will give you a fair shake. Few things fill a big screen better than a grand, historical epic brimming with sweeping vistas, action-packed set pieces, and heroic men and women fighting for love,...
- 2/1/2024
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
After the cinematic doldrums of January, February brings surprisingly packed, varied offerings, from Oscar-contending international features to biographical documentaries of legendary film artists to some electrifying genre outings. Check out my picks to see below, and catch up with our Sundance coverage ahead of our Berlinale reviews here.
16. The Monk and the Gun (Pawo Choyning Dorji; Feb. 9)
Returning after his Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Ifsn Advocate Award-shortlisted The Monk and the Gun premiered at Telluride and TIFF to much acclaim and will now be released this month. Selected by Bhutan as their Oscar entry, the heartwarming film is about an American in search of a long-lost, vintage gun in Bhutan as the country’s launching a democracy.
15. Ennio (Giuseppe Tornatore; Feb. 9)
The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician when Ennio Morricone died at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore,...
16. The Monk and the Gun (Pawo Choyning Dorji; Feb. 9)
Returning after his Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Ifsn Advocate Award-shortlisted The Monk and the Gun premiered at Telluride and TIFF to much acclaim and will now be released this month. Selected by Bhutan as their Oscar entry, the heartwarming film is about an American in search of a long-lost, vintage gun in Bhutan as the country’s launching a democracy.
15. Ennio (Giuseppe Tornatore; Feb. 9)
The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician when Ennio Morricone died at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"The Promised Land", based on the book "The Captain and Ann Barbara" by Ida Jessen, is a new historical drama feature, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Jakob Lohmann, Morten Hee Andersen, Magnus Krepper and Felix Kramer, opening February 2, 2024 in theaters:
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Clockwise from bottom left: Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton in Lisa Frankenstein, Jennifer Lopez in This Is Me ... Now, Orion And The Dark, Margaret Qualley in Drive-Away Dolls, and Chip in ArgyllePhoto: Prime, Focus Features, Universal Pictures, Netflix
January may be in the rearview, but movie theaters are still...
January may be in the rearview, but movie theaters are still...
- 1/31/2024
- by Matt Schimkowitz
- avclub.com
"The Promised Land", based on the book "The Captain and Ann Barbara" by Ida Jessen, is a new historical drama feature, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Jakob Lohmann, Morten Hee Andersen, Magnus Krepper and Felix Kramer, releasing February 2, 2024 in theaters:
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
- 1/15/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
"The Promised Land", based on the book "The Captain and Ann Barbara" by Ida Jessen, is a new historical drama feature, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Jakob Lohmann, Morten Hee Andersen, Magnus Krepper and Felix Kramer, releasing February 2, 2024 in theaters:
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
- 12/20/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Magnolia Pictures has revealed the trailer for the Mads Mikkelsen-led drama ‘The Promised Land.’
In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) – a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero – sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself.
This beautiful but forbidding area is also under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realises the threat Kahlen represents to his power. Struggling against the elements and local brigands, Kahlen is joined by a couple who have fled the clutches of the rapacious De Schinkel. As this group of misfits begins to build a small community in this inhospitable place, De Schinkel swears vengeance, and the confrontation between him and Kahlen promises to be as violent and intense as these two men.
In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) – a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero – sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself.
This beautiful but forbidding area is also under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realises the threat Kahlen represents to his power. Struggling against the elements and local brigands, Kahlen is joined by a couple who have fled the clutches of the rapacious De Schinkel. As this group of misfits begins to build a small community in this inhospitable place, De Schinkel swears vengeance, and the confrontation between him and Kahlen promises to be as violent and intense as these two men.
- 12/18/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"The Promised Land", based on the book "The Captain and Ann Barbara" by Ida Jessen, is a new historical drama feature, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Jakob Lohmann, Morten Hee Andersen, Magnus Krepper and Felix Kramer, releasing February 2, 2024 in theaters:
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
- 12/15/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
After being in the awards conversation just a few years ago with Another Round, Mads Mikkelsen is back this year with Denmark’s Oscar entry The Promised Land. A reunion with his A Royal Affair director Nikolaj Arcel, the period epic was a selection at Venice, TIFF, Telluride, and more, and now the new trailer has arrived ahead of a February 2 release from Magnolia Pictures.
Here’s the synopsis: “In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) – a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero — sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself. This beautiful but forbidding area also happens to be under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power.
Here’s the synopsis: “In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) – a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero — sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself. This beautiful but forbidding area also happens to be under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power.
- 12/14/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
As a recent new grandfather, Mads Mikkelsen couldn’t be happier, but he doesn’t smile much in his new movie. An earthy 18th-century period piece, The Promised Land sees the Dane play a hard-up veteran, Ludvig Kahlen, who is determined to turn the blasted heaths of Jutland into a thriving farmland. It’s a Western of sorts, which becomes noticeably clearer when Kahlen starts to cross swords with a competing local landowner, but, for Mikkelsen, it’s a subversive alpha male story of the kind he does so well, from the brutal Viking fantasy Valhalla Rising to the white-cold survival drama Arctic.
In his homeland, the film has a much more blunt title, Bastarden, which drills much further down into the essence of the character. “The literal meaning in English is being the illegitimate son of someone,” the actor explains, “but it also means, obviously, to be an asshole.
In his homeland, the film has a much more blunt title, Bastarden, which drills much further down into the essence of the character. “The literal meaning in English is being the illegitimate son of someone,” the actor explains, “but it also means, obviously, to be an asshole.
- 11/22/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
"The Promised Land", based on the book "The Captain and Ann Barbara" by Ida Jessen, is a new historical drama feature, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Amanda Collin ("Raised by Wolves"), Mads Mikkelsen, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Jakob Lohmann, Morten Hee Andersen, Magnus Krepper and Felix Kramer, with a wide release Tba:
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
- 10/11/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
"The Promised Land", based on the book "The Captain and Ann Barbara" by Ida Jessen, is a new historical drama feature, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Jakob Lohmann, Morten Hee Andersen, Magnus Krepper and Felix Kramer, with a wide release Tba:
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
"....poor soldier, 'Ludvig Kahlen', arrives in 1755 on the barren 'Jutland' heath with a single goal: to follow the king's call to cultivate the land and thereby achieve wealth and honor himself.
"But Kahlen quickly makes an enemy. The merciless landowner, 'Frederik De Schinkel', who is sole ruler of the area, believes that the heath belongs to him and not the king.
"When De Schinkel's serf runs away with his wife 'Ann Barbara' and seeks refuge with Kahlen, the landowner does everything to drive Kahlen away and at the same time exact a cruel revenge.
"Kahlen does not bow,...
- 9/25/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
After his 2012 film A Royal Affair received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Danish writer-director Nikolaj Arcel did what probably seemed logical at the time: go to Hollywood. But like many directors before him who walked that same path, the results were less than ideal––his being 2017’s disastrous Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower. Six years later, Arcel returns to his home country and reunites with A Royal Affair star Mads Mikkelsen to make The Promised Land, a brutal, entertaining period piece and another showcase for Mikkelsen’s stone-faced magnetism.
Set in 1700s Denmark, the film tells the story of Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mikkelsen), a poor veteran who intends to grow crops on the Jutland Heath. Opening title cards establish that no one has been able to “tame” the Heath for decades, but Kahlen and the King’s treasurers come up with a mutually beneficial arrangement. If...
Set in 1700s Denmark, the film tells the story of Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mikkelsen), a poor veteran who intends to grow crops on the Jutland Heath. Opening title cards establish that no one has been able to “tame” the Heath for decades, but Kahlen and the King’s treasurers come up with a mutually beneficial arrangement. If...
- 9/18/2023
- by C.J. Prince
- The Film Stage
They don’t make them like this any more, except when they do. Bastarden (disappointingly renamed The Promised Land in English) is a historical epic out of Denmark that has all the virtues of a midday movie remembered from childhood, the kind of thing you watched when your mother kept you home with a bad cold: a setting sometime in the olden days, a lawless frontier, sword fights and a gaggle of delectably evil baddies. Those seamy aristocrats and their henchmen, given to torturing, murdering and raping their oppressed tenants, are just lining up to have the tables turned, giving them a rich dose of their own torturing, murdering medicine. Hooray!
Better still, The Promised Land has one element those midday movies missed, simply because of the time they were made: Mads Mikkelsen. Mads as Ludwig Kahlen, soldier settler in some of the most inhospitable country on Earth, is at his staunch,...
Better still, The Promised Land has one element those midday movies missed, simply because of the time they were made: Mads Mikkelsen. Mads as Ludwig Kahlen, soldier settler in some of the most inhospitable country on Earth, is at his staunch,...
- 9/1/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Promised Land” deserves a sexier title than “The Promised Land”: It’s hard to hear those well-worn words and not expect something as beige and starchy as the spuds grown on its titular terrain. It has one, in fact. The native Danish title for Nikolaj Arcel’s film translates as “The Bastard” — which has the advantage of applying, in different senses, to both its male principals, and rather better captures the spirit of this lavishly upholstered historical romp, which may pose nobly at points, but gradually reveals a heart of pure boys’-own hokum. Notionally rooted in historical fact, but embellished with storybook romance and flouncing cartoon villainy, this roundly enjoyable Venice competition entry finally owes all its residual gravitas (and at least half its considerable handsomeness) to the expressive woodcut visage of one Mads Mikkelsen.
Funny thing about that face, with its razored planes and coolly sloping...
Funny thing about that face, with its razored planes and coolly sloping...
- 9/1/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. Magnolia Pictures releases the film in theaters on Friday, February 2.
“The Promised Land,” Nikolaj Arcel’s historical epic set in 18th century Denmark, opens with an ominous epigraph: “The heath cannot be tamed.” For a minute, the proverb reads like a foregone conclusion. Then Mads Mikkelsen shows up onscreen, and we are reassured that the words are merely a challenge, daring the great Dane to prove them wrong.
And prove them wrong he does — to a degree. Mikkelsen plays Ludvig Kahlen, a bootstrapping military veteran who, at the start of the film, fixes his sights on a tricky target: the heath of Jutland, a barren and unforgiving terrain known to be inhospitable to farming. All who have seen the area consider it a wasteland. But to Kahlen, the site might as well be El Dorado; he believes...
“The Promised Land,” Nikolaj Arcel’s historical epic set in 18th century Denmark, opens with an ominous epigraph: “The heath cannot be tamed.” For a minute, the proverb reads like a foregone conclusion. Then Mads Mikkelsen shows up onscreen, and we are reassured that the words are merely a challenge, daring the great Dane to prove them wrong.
And prove them wrong he does — to a degree. Mikkelsen plays Ludvig Kahlen, a bootstrapping military veteran who, at the start of the film, fixes his sights on a tricky target: the heath of Jutland, a barren and unforgiving terrain known to be inhospitable to farming. All who have seen the area consider it a wasteland. But to Kahlen, the site might as well be El Dorado; he believes...
- 9/1/2023
- by Natalia Winkelman
- Indiewire
It’s been 11 years since Mads Mikkelsen starred in Nikolaj Arcel’s Danish period drama A Royal Affair, one of 2012’s most raved about international films which also went on to an Oscar nomination.
Now, the countrymen are back together again with Venice competition title The Promised Land (Bastarden) which Magnolia acquired for U.S. distribution at script stage and which is already on the shortlist to be Denmark’s Oscar submission this year.
Mikkelsen plays impoverished captain Ludvig Kahlen who in 1755 sets out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable heath of Jutland with a seemingly impossible goal: to build a colony in the name of the King. But the merciless Frederik de Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg) does everything in his power to drive the captain away. Kahlen will not be intimidated and engages in an unequal battle — risking not only his life, but also that of the family of outsiders that has formed around him.
Now, the countrymen are back together again with Venice competition title The Promised Land (Bastarden) which Magnolia acquired for U.S. distribution at script stage and which is already on the shortlist to be Denmark’s Oscar submission this year.
Mikkelsen plays impoverished captain Ludvig Kahlen who in 1755 sets out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable heath of Jutland with a seemingly impossible goal: to build a colony in the name of the King. But the merciless Frederik de Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg) does everything in his power to drive the captain away. Kahlen will not be intimidated and engages in an unequal battle — risking not only his life, but also that of the family of outsiders that has formed around him.
- 9/1/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The Promised Land, the new film from Danish director Nikolaj Arcel, is a story of ambition.
Set in 1755 it follows Captain Ludvig Kahlen, a bankrupt former soldier determined to secure the royal title denied him by birth — the film’s Danish title, Bastarden, is a reference to Kahlen’s origins as the illegitimate son of a rich landowner and his housemaid — by building a colony for the Danish king in the hinterlands of the Danish heath, at the time a lawless and untamed wilderness. In addition to the unforgiving climate and hardscrabble, crop-resistance soil, Kahlen has to battle with Frederik de Schinkel, a brutal and arrogant land baron determined to claim Kahlen’s land for his own.
The premise has the makings of a classic Western: The story of one man taming the frontier. But Arcel, who co-wrote the film with his frequent collaborator Anders Thomas Jensen (Riders of Justice...
Set in 1755 it follows Captain Ludvig Kahlen, a bankrupt former soldier determined to secure the royal title denied him by birth — the film’s Danish title, Bastarden, is a reference to Kahlen’s origins as the illegitimate son of a rich landowner and his housemaid — by building a colony for the Danish king in the hinterlands of the Danish heath, at the time a lawless and untamed wilderness. In addition to the unforgiving climate and hardscrabble, crop-resistance soil, Kahlen has to battle with Frederik de Schinkel, a brutal and arrogant land baron determined to claim Kahlen’s land for his own.
The premise has the makings of a classic Western: The story of one man taming the frontier. But Arcel, who co-wrote the film with his frequent collaborator Anders Thomas Jensen (Riders of Justice...
- 9/1/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"The Promised Land" (aka "Bastarden") is a Danish-produced, live-action period feature, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Magnus Krepper, Simon Bennebjerg, Gustav Lindh, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Morten Hee Andersen, Jacob Lohmann and Felix Kramer, with a North American release Tba:
"...in 1755, the impoverished captain 'Ludvig Kahlen' sets out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal: to build a colony in the name of the 'King'. In exchange, he’ll receive a desperately desired 'Royal' name for himself.
"But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless 'Frederik de Schinkel', arrogantly believes this land belongs to him. When de Schinkel learns the maid 'Ann Barbara' and her servant husband have escaped for refuge with Kahlen, the privileged, spiteful ruler swears revenge, doing everything in his power to drive the captain away.
"Kahlen will not be intimidated and engages in an...
"...in 1755, the impoverished captain 'Ludvig Kahlen' sets out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal: to build a colony in the name of the 'King'. In exchange, he’ll receive a desperately desired 'Royal' name for himself.
"But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless 'Frederik de Schinkel', arrogantly believes this land belongs to him. When de Schinkel learns the maid 'Ann Barbara' and her servant husband have escaped for refuge with Kahlen, the privileged, spiteful ruler swears revenge, doing everything in his power to drive the captain away.
"Kahlen will not be intimidated and engages in an...
- 8/28/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
"Stay off the heath." Zentropa in Denmark has revealed the first trailer for a film called The Promised Land, which will be premiering at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. The latest feature from Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel is playing in the Main Competition - kicking off next week. The film is set in the late 1700s and is a tale of royalty and servants. It tells the story of Ludvig Kahlen who pursued his lifelong dream: To make the heath bring him wealth & honor. The heath they refer to is a wild & dry land, created by Stone Age farmers who unknowingly exhausted the Danish farm lands (more info here). Mads Mikkelsen stars as Kahlen, with Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg, Kristine Kujath Thorp, and Gustav Lindh. Arcel introduces the film: "Aided by Ida Jessen’s brilliant novel, Anders Thomas Jensen and I wanted to tell a grand, epic tale about how our...
- 8/23/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Mads Mikkelsen embodies real-life captain Ludvig Kahlen in a new trailer for The Promised Land. The historical drama, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The clip reveals Mikkelsen as Kahlen, who set out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with the aim of building a colony in the name of the King. A synopsis for the film describes it as “a gripping story about the conquest of the heath, the tale of a proud and uncompromising man, and the woman who becomes...
The clip reveals Mikkelsen as Kahlen, who set out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with the aim of building a colony in the name of the King. A synopsis for the film describes it as “a gripping story about the conquest of the heath, the tale of a proud and uncompromising man, and the woman who becomes...
- 8/23/2023
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Copenhagen, 25 July 2023 – The 80th Venice International Film Festival has just announced its official selection, which includes Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land, a gripping drama, based on true events about one man’s steely quest to create his own fortune and to change the map of Denmark forever. But in his pursuit of wealth and honor, he risks sacrificing love and losing those he cares about.
The Zentropa-produced drama will world premiere in Competiton at the Biennale di Venezia, one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious festivals.
The critically acclaimed director is back at the helm directing a Danish film, for the first time since the Academy Award-nominated A Royal Affair (2012) and reuniting with talented, world-class actor Mads Mikkelsen. The Promised Land is penned by Arcel and Danish screenwriter and director Anders Thomas Jensen and is based on the Danish bestseller ‘Kaptajnen og Ann Barbara’ (translated ‘The...
The Zentropa-produced drama will world premiere in Competiton at the Biennale di Venezia, one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious festivals.
The critically acclaimed director is back at the helm directing a Danish film, for the first time since the Academy Award-nominated A Royal Affair (2012) and reuniting with talented, world-class actor Mads Mikkelsen. The Promised Land is penned by Arcel and Danish screenwriter and director Anders Thomas Jensen and is based on the Danish bestseller ‘Kaptajnen og Ann Barbara’ (translated ‘The...
- 8/1/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
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