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The Promised Land Movie Review

The Promised Land is a 2023 Danish historical drama film directed by Nikolaj Arcel and starring Mads Mikkelsen. It’s a slow, but very well made historical flick.

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“It is much more afraid of you than you are for it“

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In 1755, the impoverished Captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer the uninhabitable Danish heath in the name of the King. But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless Frederik de Schinkel, who believes the land belongs to him, swears revenge when the maid Ann Barbara and her serf husband escape for refuge with Kahlen. This is a very old-fashioned period piece that is all about pride, sacrifice and man versus nature.

The main reason why this movie works as well as it does lies in that traditional approach to storytelling that focuses on epic period piece elements (fighting and killing along with costume drama sensibilities) while mixing it with the more modern character study elements, resulting in a sturdy mixture of potent plot points and interesting dialogue.

The main reason to see the film is for the acting. Amanda Collin is very good as Ann Barbara and her character was quite interesting. The villain was also quite well realized and at times even compelling. The standout of course is the always dependable Mads Mikkelsen, whose performance here is once again layered and utterly believable. He is the best Danish actor probably of all time and this film used him so well by putting him at the center of the story.

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My main issue with The Promised Land is the pacing itself. The costumes, attention to detail and cinematography are all terrific, but the movie is so slow that it at times really dragged. It never quite moved me or engaged me. Its bleakness was also overwhelming at times. It’s a competently made western of sorts, but it lacked the unpredictability and freshness of the more memorable films in its genre.