The Promised Land

Denmark, mid-eighteenth century. With the begrudging approval of the royal court, retired captain and social outcast Ludvig Kahlen sets out to the barren plains of Jutland, hoping to turn it into arable territory and secure wealth and honour for himself. However to achieve his goal, he must overcome the cold-blooded landlord Frederik De Schinkel, who sees Kahlen as a trespasser on his domain.  

Emotional gravitas meets remarkable narrative nimbleness in Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel’s stirring period epic The Promised Land. The drama unfolds at a brisk pace, with an inner necessity that draws it inexorably towards a devastating conclusion. Adapted from Ida Jessen’s 2011 novel The Captain and Ann Barbara, this widescreen spectacle is powered by Mads Mikkelsen as a tenacious, resourceful pioneer whose unshakeable allegiance is to the crown, but whose motivations are all personal.  

While resembling a Western in its theme of civilisation wrought from the wilderness, Arcel’s film examines more intricate class and gender politics. Civilisation here appears both as a source of unbridled tyranny and an ideal to be constantly re-established through individual enterprise. Exploring the outer reaches of the Old World, The Promised Land offers a sweeping historical saga with a pointedly tragic undertone.   

– Srikanth Srinivasan

Trailer

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