The Promised Land

by Mike McGranaghan

The Promised Land is one of those movies that sounds utterly boring to hear described yet is absolutely riveting when you watch it. I would not have expected a movie about the effort to revitalize a patch of dry land to suck me in so thoroughly. This Danish import uses the concept of that land to explore themes of nobility, power, and loyalty. Director Nikolaj Arcel bounces back nicely from his foray into Hollywood filmmaking, the 2017 debacle The Dark Tower, with this stunning drama.

Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) has long dreamed of having wealth and influence. He petitions the Royal Danish Court for a piece of land in “the heath” – a barren zone that others have tried and failed to cultivate. If successful, he wants to be declared a noble and given a manor. The king hasn’t given up on the area, leading to the request being granted, even though nobody thinks it will be successful. Kahlen shows unexpected progress, which greatly upsets Frederik de Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg), a local magistrate with plans on monopolizing the heath.

The Promised Land focuses on the rivalry between de Schinkel and Kahlen. The more successful Kahlen gets, the more devious the methods de Schinkel employs to foil him. A gripping contrast exists between the men. One seeks the money and power he’s never obtained; the other has those things and is desperate not to lose them. The characters are two sides of the same coin, locked in battle for a shared desire. Both view it as a zero-sum game, making their battle increasingly intense. Watching them outmaneuver each other provides the movie with some of its biggest thrills.

Underneath that is a tender aspect to the plot. Helping Kahlen establish himself are a housekeeper, Ann Barbara (Amanda Collin), and a young Romani orphan named Anmai Mus (Melina Hagberg) who is often on the receiving end of prejudice due to her darker skin tone. At first, he views them solely as workers there to be exploited for his personal goal. His views gradually change as he becomes more aware of their own plights regarding de Schinkel. A de facto family forms, leading the film to its unpredictable, emotional conclusion.

Mads Mikkelsen adds to his string of commanding performances as Kahlen. He plays the character as a Clint Eastwood-esque man-of-few-words. All the ambition, rage, and compassion this guy feels are conveyed by the actor’s eyes. Simon Bennebjerg appealingly takes the opposite route, portraying de Schinkel as the kind of loathsome, entitled weasel you love to hate. The balance between hero and villain is just right to pull both halves of the story together meaningfully.

The Promised Land takes its central figure to a place of introspection at the end. His recent life has been dedicated to a specific goal, but has that goal been worth the trouble? A poignant finale reveals his answer to the question. The movie may take place on a boring piece of dry land; what happens on and around that land, however, is far from boring.

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