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The Promised Land

Play trailer 2:02 Poster for The Promised Land R 2024 2h 7m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 131 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) -- a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero -- sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself. This beautiful but forbidding area also happens to be under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power. Struggling against the elements and local brigands, Kahlen is joined by a couple who have fled the clutches of the rapacious De Schinkel. As this group of misfits begins to build a small community in this inhospitable place, De Schinkel swears vengeance, and the confrontation between him and Kahlen promises to be as violent and intense as these two men.
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The Promised Land

The Promised Land

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Critics Consensus

Mads Mikkelson leads us through the savage terrain of The Promised Land with a glimmer of hope in this epic Nordic tale with Western bones.

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Critics Reviews

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Stephen Romei The Australian 06/27/2024
3.5/5
There are times in the impressive Danish historical drama The Promised Land where Dr Lecter peeks from the eyes of the main character... Go to Full Review
Tara Brady Irish Times 02/24/2024
4/5
The anti-immigrant and Romani sentiment expressed by Danes in 1755, although tinged with superstition, sounds eerily familiar. Mostly, though, The Promised Land, in common with its hero, ploughs a furrow as a rough-hewn costumed adventure. Go to Full Review
Sergio Burstein Los Angeles Times 02/20/2024
The only problem here is that the whole ends up feeling a bit didactic and leaning towards the narrative style of Hollywood simplicity, yet does not take away from the power of a film that definitely deserves to be seen. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
David Bax Battleship Pretension Sep 10
This is clearly a high budget, professional production, the kind of thing Hollywood used to more regularly churn out for grown mainstream audiences who liked a little bit of class with their popcorn. Go to Full Review
Maxance Vincent Film Speak Jul 14
A
Arcel gives The Promised Land enough time to develop its characters inside a richly-developed and striking world, filled with evocative images from cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk, that immediately recall Sergio Leone’s tableaux of the West. Go to Full Review
Leonardo Garcia Tsao La Jornada Feb 10
The story is conventional, but at no time does it give off the stench of the old-fashioned. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Gray S 02/07/2024 Fantastic, evocative, timely story, beautifully told. See more Janis 02/03/2024 Great story and actors. Very sad story but realistic about life in the 1700s . Written well. See more Nate N. @FilmBuffRatings 1d I think the story was absolutely beautiful and the cinematography was perfect in my opinion and this is one of the movies that will make you cry over and over again See more Jim S 6d 18th century Danish revenge western! Absolutely superb, its original Danish title, shown in large red upper case at the beginning is ‘Bastarden’. The baddies are really bad and the goody is a hero, just as it should be. See more John S Nov 17 Surprised how good this movie was. Mads is fantastic in this and the story was very well done. Very good historical film, See more Iwan D Nov 15 Great story , great acting, tears in my eyes several times See more Read all reviews
The Promised Land

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) -- a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero -- sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself. This beautiful but forbidding area also happens to be under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power. Struggling against the elements and local brigands, Kahlen is joined by a couple who have fled the clutches of the rapacious De Schinkel. As this group of misfits begins to build a small community in this inhospitable place, De Schinkel swears vengeance, and the confrontation between him and Kahlen promises to be as violent and intense as these two men.
Director
Nikolaj Arcel
Producer
Louise Vesth
Screenwriter
Anders Thomas Jensen, Nikolaj Arcel
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
Zentropa Entertainment
Rating
R (Brief Nudity|Bloody Violence|Language|Some Sexuality)
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
Danish
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 2, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 23, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA)
$256.3K
Runtime
2h 7m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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