The Promised Land, or, translated directly from Danish, The Bastard is about Ludvig Kahlen, a Danish war hero in the 1800s who rose from nobleman’s bastard to the rank of Captain, and in his retirement takes on a near-impossible undertaking to farm crops on an infamously barren heath. Kahlen encounters a rich cast of characters while working on the heath, including runaway farmers, Romani travellers living as outlaws, a noblewoman desperate to avoid marrying her power-hungry cousin, and said cousin, a nobleman who will stop at nothing to put an end to Kahlen’s project. Mads Mikkelsen plays Kahlen, who was a real man from Denmark, and he exquisitely portrays Kahlen’s nigh-religious determination to create life in a punishing environment.
Kahlen is a man who stops at nothing to achieve a noble goal. However, as he is working in a system that rewards and at times demands cruelty, his drive to succeed often pushes him to act against his kind nature. The film gets brutally violent, reminding us of the high stakes involved in dominating the heath. Class and race inequities are brutally prevalent in the society that actively encourages landlords to whip and burn their tenant farmers, and female servants are playthings for their lords and masters. Director Nicolaj Arcel does not shy away from the realities of life for the low-born.
The Promise Land. Directed by Nicolaj Arcel, 2023.
Amongst the extended cast are a Romani (Tater) girl called Anmai Mus, played affectively by 9-year-old Melina Hagberg, and a couple who were indentured servants to an abusive master but escaped at much personal cost. Ann Barbara and Johannes played by Amanda Collin and Morten Hee Anderson respectively are perhaps the biggest victims of the class structure, and their performances are devastatingly beautiful. These three characters bring so much heart to the unforgiving heath that they work on, and they form a de-facto family with Kahlen, at times melting his icy exterior.
The ‘owner’ of Ann Barbara and Johannes is a noble named Frederik Schinkel, who claims he owns not only the couple but also the heath itself, and he frequently attempts to stop Kahler cultivating the land. Schinkel works extremely well as a villain, not only as the bumbling alcoholic ass who insists on being referred to as De Schinkel because it sounds fancier, but also as a borderline maniacal tyrant who unsettles us the moment he waltzes into frame. A villain who delivers some of the funniest and most bone-chilling scenes makes for an extremely compelling dynamic with the hero, only strengthened by Simon Bennebjerg’s performance and chemistry with Mads Mikkelsen. Their opposite but complementary takes on the silent stare make for a tense show-down, Kahlen’s stoic passivity combatting Schinkel’s loose grin and roving eyes. Every scene they shared was full of surprises.
The Promise Land. Directed by Nicolaj Arcel, 2023.
The Danish heath itself functions as another character, imposing its will on Kahlen and his found family, rewarding them for hard work or taking away all their profits on a whim. The film is full of wide shots showing off the gorgeously moody countryside, and natural lighting and candlelight are used to great effect. One scene in particular is visually striking, when Schinkel rides out to Kahler’s house in his carriage during a night-time snowstorm, and the darkness of the heath paces around the circle of light thrown by his footman’s lantern, threatening to swallow them all whole. Elsewhere candlelight either adds menacing shadows to a tense scene or throws warm light on an emotional moment of human connection.
The Promised Land is another notch on Mads Mikkleson’s belt alongside an extremely strong extended cast. With moments that will make you laugh, make you queasy, and ones that will make anyone tear up, The Promised Land is an intensely poignant film about a man who will stop at nothing to grow potatoes.
The Promise Land is on from March 4-10 at Somerville Auditorium.