“The Promised Land”, the quest for power in a Danish historical drama

Another great acting performance arrives at the cinema: after the notable work of Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard in “Memory”, released last week, this weekend it is Mads Mikkelsen who will attract the spotlight of new releases in theaters with “The Promised Land”.

Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, the film is set in the eighteenth century and tells the story of Ludvig von Kahlen, a man who, after falling from grace, sets out to conquer the harsh and uninhabitable Danish moor with a seemingly impossible goal: to found a colony in the name of the king. In exchange, he will receive for himself the noble title he has always desperately wanted. But the area’s only ruler, the ruthless Frederik de Schinkel, arrogantly believes that this land belongs to him.

Taking inspiration from the book “The Captain and Ann Barbara” by Ida Jessen, Arcel directs a historical drama, inspired by a true story, which is above all a tale of the search for honor and power by a character willing to do anything to earn a noble title and thus be more considered by the king.After directing the terrible “The Dark Tower” (2017), an action film based on Stephen King’s saga of the same name, Danish director Nikolaj Arcel signs the most significant film of his career , thanks also to the beautiful screenplay written by him together with Anders Thomas Jensen, former director of “Adam’s Apples” and author of the scripts of some of Susanne Bier’s films such as “After the Wedding” and “In a Better World”.

The narrative marks a path of self-determination of a character ready to challenge nature for power in order to realize his desires, but he will risk his life and that of the family that was formed together with him.

Genres that mix

Presented in competition at the latest Venice Film Festival, “The Promised Land” is Arcel’s return to historical costume drama after “Royal Affair” in 2012, but in this case other genres are also mixed in, starting with the western which is recalled for the images of the desolate lands and the relationship between the characters and the surrounding environment. It is precisely this aspect, conveyed very well by the excellent photography of the film, that stands out in this feature film which struggles a bit to get going, but which it grows with distance, giving a truly incisive final part.