The Promised Land

"A captain’s ambition, a ruthless rival, and a land that defies them both."

2023 2h 7m DA

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 654

ActionDramaHistory

Synopsis

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Denmark, 1755. Captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer a Danish heath reputed to be uncultivable, with an impossible goal: to establish a colony in the name of the king, in exchange for a royal title. A single-minded ambition that the ruthless lord of the region will relentlessly seek to put down. Kahlen's fate hangs in the balance: will his endevours bring him wealth and honour, or cost him his life...?

“A captain’s ambition, a ruthless rival, and a land that defies them both.”

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Cast

Mads Mikkelsen
Ludvig Kahlen
Amanda Collin
Ann Barbara
Simon Bennebjerg
Frederik de Schinkel
Kristine Kujath Thorp
Edel Helene
Gustav Lindh
Anton Eklund
Jacob Lohmann
Trappaud
Morten Hee Andersen
Johannes Eriksen
Magnus Krepper
Hector

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Writers: Nikolaj Arcel, Anders Thomas Jensen, Anders Huulgaard
Languages: Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish
Countries: Denmark, Germany, Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 26% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Denmark, Germany, Sweden.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

313+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, shot by Rasmus Videbæk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dan Romer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nikolaj Arcel directs. Rasmus Videbæk behind the camera. Dan Romer scores. Olivier Bugge Coutté cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Denmark, Germany, Sweden. Dialogue in Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 26% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 3 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish.
4International production across 3 countries: Denmark, Germany, Sweden.
5313+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, shot by Rasmus Videbæk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Dan Romer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Olivier Bugge Coutté shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Mads Mikkelsen and Amanda Collin and Simon Bennebjerg carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "A captain’s ambition, a ruthless rival, and a land that defies them both.".
11IMDB entry: tt20561198 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 21 themes, including "based on novel or book", "murder", "priest", "colonisation".
13Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Rasmus Videbæk
Original score: Dan Romer
Editing: Olivier Bugge Coutté
Production design: Jette Lehmann
Costume design: Kicki Ilander
Makeup / hair: Sabine Schumann
VFX supervisor: Alexander Schepelern
Sound: Hans Christian Koch
Stunt coordinator: Jakub Bobuski
Runtime: 127 min · 2h 7m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $8,500,000
Box office: $2,246,680
Return: 26% of budget
Original language: DA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Promised Land (2023)

Awards

Robert Award for Best Danish Film
European Film Award for Best Cinematographer
European Film Award for Best Actor
Bodil Award for Best Danish Film
FIPRESCI Award Best Nordic Film
Audience Dragon Award Best Nordic Film
European Film Award for Best Costume Designer

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Nikolaj Arcel

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2023-09-05
★ 7/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/the-promised-land-venice-film-festival-review-mads-mikkelsen-shines-once-again/ "The Promised Land is a profound character study of how personal ambitions and desires inevitably will fail without love, compassion, and everything else that makes us human. Accompanied by somber cinematography and an atmospheric score, the cast delivers outstanding performances, especially Mads Mikkelsen who utilizes all his experience to drive the story with a magnetic display. Heavy, predictable, and somewhat repetitive at times, but totally worth the ticket." Rating: B+
CinemaSerf2024-03-07
★ 7/10
Mads Mikkelsen is in his element here as the determined pioneer Ludvig Kahlen. He has been a soldier in the Danish army and has now set his heart on cultivating some salty heathland on a barren Jutland. Fortunately for him, King Frederik V is keen to see this land settled and become more productive, so he is encouraged to go and farm there. His arrival ruffles the feathers of local grandee Frederik De Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg) who considers the land to be his, and who makes it clear that he will make life awkward for his new neighbour. Relations are not helped when he takes in a pair of runaway servants - "Ann Barbara" (Amanda Collin) and husband "Johannes" (Morten Hee Andersen) and then falls for the man's aristocratic cousin Edel Helene (Kristine Kujath Thorp) to whom De Schinkel wishes to be married - cementing his place amongst a somewhat sceptical nobility. With the pot simmering along nicely now, things start to go missing. There's a pilferer about. Kahlen quickly discovers that it's a young girl who lives with the local Romany population and pretty quickly "Anmai Mus" (Melina Hagberg) is an extra mouth for them to feed. De Schinkel isn't averse to some underhand methods to thwart the would-be farmer and so resorts to increasingly violent, cruel, even murderous tactics that make the tasks of staying within the law and of growing potatoes almost impossible - but he doesn't quite appreciate the guile and ingenuity of Kahlen. This is a story of perseverance and determination, it's also a story of love and of acceptance. Indeed, for just about everyone here the goal is to find some roots, a place to call home, a family, maybe even an identity. There evolves a good chemistry between Mikkelsen, Collin and the convincing young Hagberg and Bennebjerg - well he gives the distinct impression that he doesn't come from the deepest of gene pools really quite effectively. It is prone to the odd meander at times, especially as it gets up an head of steam, but once in full flow this is quite a gripping adventure that marries the bleak and the optimistic whilst allowing Mikkelsen to do what he does best. Well worth watch.
r96sk2024-09-11
★ 9/10
I do love me a Mads Mikkelsen movie. 'The Promised Land' is a cracker! The two hour run time whizzes by, you can kinda guess where the (great) story is heading but at no point was that a hindrance to my enjoyment. The cinematography is splendid, as are the locations, costumes and basically every other element really. Simon Bennebjerg shows plenty of acting knack as (De) Schinkel. Others to impress are Melina Hagberg and Amanda Collin, though the whole cast produce fine displays. Mikkelsen himself puts in a performance of quality, very much the glue that holds everything together - as one would anticipate. He suits this sorta role to the absolute tee. This is up the top of my ranking of his filmography thus far, I'd in fact only rank it lower than 'A Royal Affair', 'Riders of Justice' and 'The Green Butchers'.