The Promised Land (2023): Undaunted Mads

The new movie The Promised Land is advertised as an epic journey. At its core is certainly an old-fashioned idea. A rugged, resolute man sets out to transform an inhospitable wilderness into arable land and thereby make his fortune. Could be any of dozens of American frontier stories. But it’s not: this one takes place in wild Denmark. The central character is not a man with family or the leader of an outcast community seeking a new start, but a singular man on his own with a vision. He wants to make his mark in the world. This sort of protagonist is rarer, but still not unique. More unusual is the fact that his biggest challenge is not the harsh, unforgiving frontier, but the obsessions of a lunatic aristocrat and a callous, contemptuous gentry.

It’s 1785.  A former army Captain, Ludvig Kahlen, arrives at the palace of Denmark’s king seeking a royal charter to establish a farm and build a settlement in the vast, barren, empty Jutland heath. He is of lowly birth and has no connections at court. He also has no money other than his modest captain’s pension. Indeed, Ludvig has no bona fides at all to recommend him for the commission he seeks, other than his 20-some years of military experience and his unequivocal determination. Oh, and the chiseled, rugged looks and square jaw of Danish star Mads Mikkelsen.

Ludvig is met by a group of royal advisors, who tell him that what he’s proposing is impossible. Nothing grows on the heath, and anyone who has tried to settle there has died. Besides, Ludvig is a commoner, a nobody. Maybe so, but he is an insistent one, and when he offers to finance his plan himself, the foppish coterie stops laughing. All he wants – only if he succeeds – is a noble title, a manor house and the means to support it - in other words, entrée into the hierarchy from which he has been excluded his entire life. And he is willing to work for it. Believing his chances of success to be negligible and knowing that the crazy King would love to get some settlements on the vast, empty heath, Ludvig’s proposal is approved.

That part was relatively easy. The balance of The Promised Land is the story of what happens next, which turns out to be anything but. For one thing the land is a bitch to tame: terrible soil, gruelingly bad weather, short summers, marauding brigands – factors which have already defeated everyone else who has tried, and which nearly defeat Ludvig as well.  But worst of all is the megalomaniacal landowner Frederik Schinkel. (“Call me ‘de Schinkel’ – it’s so much more refined.”). Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg) fancies himself the lord of all the heath (although it’s truly the monarch’s property) and will tolerate no competition. Before Ludvig even has a chance to establish himself, Schinkel wants him out – or at a minimum to be wholly subservient.  When Ludvig refuses, the enraged Schinkel reacts with violence. This is a really bad guy – the kind moviegoers love to hate: vain, petty, vulgar and shockingly cruel.

Contending with a harsh physical environment and a powerful human antagonist, Ludvig is up against
more than he bargained for on his incipient farm, even with help from some runaway servants [aka slaves] formerly belonging to Schinkel – Anton ( Gustav Lindh) and Ann Barbara (Amanda Collin, excellent), and also from a lowly, but idealistic local cleric. The only things keeping him going are desperation – Ludvig has banked everything on this venture: his fortune, his dreams and his pride – and his own bit of megalomania; because he has become so obsessed with his plan to conquer the land and reap its rewards, he's blind to everything else. This obsession proves to be Ludvig’s greatest adversary.  I won’t tell you how it turns out but can say I admired how, near the end,  Mikkelsen’s character came to change as a result of his experiences.

Director and co-writer Nikolaj Arcel [A Royal Affair (2012)] has produced an engaging drama about Ludvig's extraordinary struggle to succeed against all odds - about a man whose own hubristic flaws may destroy not only him but everything he cares for. The land itself is beautifully photographed, and the tone of the narrative is stark, gritty, grim and inspiring even as, somehow, it explores themes of love, connectedness and family. It really is rather epic. Mikkelsen has never been better in a pure drama. 

But the film is not altogether an easy watch – The Promised Land contains some pretty horrific violence, not slasher-film violence nor wholly gratuitous stuff, but still hard to witness. Think of Django Unchained (2012) – if you could watch that, you’ll be fine with The Promised Land.  Here’s a link to the trailer to give you a sense of it. 

The Promised Land was Denmark’s submission to the coming Academy Awards in the international film category. Although it did not make it into the final 5 nominees, the movie has received a solidly good critical score of 74 on Metacritic and an even higher score of 95% on RottenTomatoes.  If you like the stolidly determined version of Mads Mikkelsen’s onscreen persona or, more generally, a man triumphing over adversity, you should definitely see this film. 

2 hours 7 minutes 

Grade: B+

In theaters - US release date  was Friday, February 2, 2024. Unofficial online estimates suggest a release on VOD streaming services in late February or early March.