‘The Promised Land’ (‘Bastarden’
in Danish) is set in the 1750s and follows a former Army Captain, Ludvig Kahlen
(Mikkelsen) as he sets out to cultivate the inhospitable heath in Western
Denmark, with it’s poor soil and bad weather. He encounters all sorts of bureaucratic,
personnel and personal hurdles. This is an at-times violent battle of wills
shown over a few years, all with subtitles.
His efforts are helped by two runaways, Ann Barbara (Collin) &
Johannes (Andersen), priest Anton (Lindh) and then little Roma/Tater Anmai Mus
(Hagberg). Kahlen is then unknowingly pitted against the entitled “county judge”
Frederik de Schinkel (Bennebjerg, a great “bad guy”), who claims the heath as
his own. Matters aren’t helped when de Schinkel’s supposed finance, Edel (Thorp)
takes an interest in Kahlen. While it’s a brutal time and place to be alive,
the cinematography is excellent and makes you want to visit (when it's not winter!).
It goes for 2 hours and doesn’t drag too much, even if at times you’re
not sure what’s driving the plot forward. But it manages to fit a lot in and fits
quite a few genres in: Western, revenge thriller, family-overcoming-adversity,
romance and drama. The ending is mostly satisfying and while I can’t say it’s
flawless, it is a well-made film, carried relentlessly forward by Mikkelsen’s determination
and stare.
Overall: Solid foreign historical drama
Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars
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