Promised Land

This gripping Nordic Western has its comedic components, making it a mediocre watch however, it is coupled with satisfying grandeur. It’s a blend of both historical and fictional plots basing itself on The Captain and Ann Barbara. Promised Land is a thoughtful drama exploring the moral complexities of fracking in a small American town. Matt Damon and Frances McDormand deliver compelling performances in this nuanced tale of corporate influence, environmental concerns, and personal ethics.

From the name itself, the Danish director Nikolaj Arcel sets high standards for the movie due to it being well-captured and aesthetically pleasing.

The retired 18th-century army captain who turned farmer Ludwig von Kahlen, comes under the limelight as this movie starts with him getting his hands on some forbidden real estate. Set in a lawless and unreachable region, Kahlen geezers big riches to be earned through blood sweat, and toil. Mads Mikkelsen’s portrayal of Kahlen emphasizes to importance of dominating a classroom with silence and presence rather than just words, just like Gary Cooper. The movie shifts the focus of this daring filmman onto a romantic subplot and liberalistic views on ethnicity.

Amanda Collin, whom you may recognize from HBO’s Raised by Wolves, takes on the role of Ann Barbara, a peasant wife and runaway in search of Cahlens love, while Simon Bennebjerg, a cross-dressing land baron who seeks to take down any competition near a plantation, embraces a panto-villain role of De Schinkel. There exists a semi-black comedy component that Schinkel asserts in his sadistic antics to shock guests at a party but fails at it. Edel, his fiancee, a Norwegian aristocrat with some very unusual preferences is interested in an atypical alcoholic ex-marine. Kahlen is pushed on while he continues his agrarian routine for a Tatar Romani traveler girl, Anmai Mus who is also persecuted for her skin color.

Just like Arcel’s 2012 movie A Royal Affair, this centers on the “extended regency” which is a period in Danish history during the 18th century, featuring events contemporary to the madness of George the Third in the UK. The earlier film was about the doctor who was in effective control of Denmark for a year when Christian VII was insane; ‘The Promised Land’ is based on the reign of his predecessor Frederick V, who at least in his drunken condition would turn all to his Advisers. It’s a somewhat romanticized tale, but Mikkelsen imbues it with gravitas and passion.

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