''The Promised Land'' (, , ) is a 2023

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film directed by

Nikolaj Arcel Nikolaj Arcel (born 25 August 1972) is a Danish filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for his 2012 film ''A Royal Affair'', which won two prizes at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and which ...

and written by Arcel and

Anders Thomas Jensen Anders Thomas Jensen (born 6 April 1972) is a Danish screenwriter and film director. His film ''Election Night (1998 film), Election Night'' won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Life and career Jensen was born in Frederi ...

. Based on the 2020 book ''The Captain and Ann Barbara'' by Ida Jessen, the film is a joint Danish-German-Swedish co-production starring

Mads Mikkelsen Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. He rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the Pusher (film series), ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), Detective Sergea ...

Amanda Collin Amanda Collin (born 4 March 1986) is a Danish actress. She is known for '' A Terrible Woman'' (2017), '' Department Q: A Conspiracy of Faith'' (2016), '' Splitting Up Together'' (2016), '' Raised by Wolves'' (2020–2022) and ''House of the Dr ...

and Simon Bennebjerg, and with Kristine Kujath Thorp,

Gustav Lindh Gustav Lindh (born 4 June 1995) is a Swedish actor. He is best known for his roles as Aron in '' Älska mig'' and Jörgen Olsson in ''Jordskott''. He is internationally best known for his role in '' Queen of Hearts''. In 2020, he plays a role in ...

, Jakob Lohmann, Morten Hee Andersen,

Magnus Krepper Rolf Magnus Krepper (born 10 January 1967 in Norrköping, Sweden) is a Swedish actor, dancer, singer, and magician. He is a member of ''Moderna Illusionisters Cirkel''. In 2006, Krepper received the Guldbagge Award for best male role in the 20 ...

and Felix Kramer in supporting roles. ''The Promised Land'' had its world premiere on 31 August 2023 at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it competed for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

. It was selected as the Danish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

96th Academy Awards The 96th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonl ...

, and was one of the 15 finalist films in the December shortlist.

Plot

In 1755, Captain Ludvig Kahlen, an impoverished Danish officer of humble birth, retires after 25 years of service in the German Army with a measly pension. He obtains permission from the Royal Danish Court to build a property on the barren

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

for land cultivation. He hopes to establish a settlement on this land, and in return for that he requests from the Court the privilege of a

noble title Traditional rank amongst European imperiality, royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to anoth ...

with an associated manor. Soon after arriving at the site of his prospective

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

, he comes into conflict with Frederik Schinkel, a local

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

at the nearby Hald Manor and merciless landowner who has been trying to monopolize ownership of the moorland. Schinkel does his utmost to make a

workforce In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed): \text = \text + \text Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...

unavailable to Kahlen, who covertly employs and harbours Johannes Eriksen and his wife Ann Barbara, two of Schinkel's indentured serf farmers who broke their contract and fled Schinkel's mistreatment. After being led to their camp by Anmai Mus, a Romani girl he catches trying to steal from him, he also hires the "Tatere" Romani Travellers as workers, despite this practice being illegal. In the meantime, Schinkel's cousin and betrothed Edel Helene is not interested in marrying him, but her father insists on the marriage due to Schinkel's substantial wealth, unless she can come up with an alternative suitor within a year. At a harvest ball, Edel meets Kahlen secretly and share a kiss to seal the understanding that if he can acquire a noble title within the year, they will marry, offering her an escape from the union with her cousin. Towards the end of the party, Schinkel reveals that he has recaptured Johannes while he was on his way to the coast to acquire clay for Kahlen's farm. The escaped serf is tortured to death with boiling water by his former master in front of appalled party guests. Kahlen takes Johannes' body back to his wife; seeing the boiled body of their fellow worker, the Travellers leave Kahlen's employment, though Anmai manages to stay behind. Despite multiple challenges during a brutal winter, with Ann's and Anmai's help, Kahlen manages to plant the

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

brought from Germany and harvest 80 sacks. In the process, the three form an unofficial family; Kahlen and Ann start a sexual relationship. When the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

receives report of the successful harvest, he orders the establishment of a settlement on Kahlen's estate. Kahlen is conferred the title of Royal Surveyor, and 50 settlers from Northern Germany are sent to his land. The superstitious settlers are repulsed by Anmai, though she manages to stay out of sight and learns reading and surveying from Kahlen. Furious at Kahlen's success, Schinkel imports convicts to attack the new settlement, killing two settlers and half of the livestock. In revenge, Kahlen and a few settlers attack and kill the perpetrators in their hideout, though he is forced to send Anmai away in exchange for their help. This betrayal also causes Ann to leave. Schinkel's officer, Preisler, witnesses the killings and flees. Schinkel and his fellow estate owners report this to the king's cabinet; the new settlement's ownership is transferred to Schinkel, and Kahlen is arrested. While Kahlen is being tortured at Schinkel's estate, Ann sneaks in and prepares a poisoned drink; Edel leads Schinkel into drinking it. While he is incapacitated, Ann comes in and stabs him in the stomach and castrates him. Butler Bondo explains everything to the king's cabinet; Kahlen is released, Ann is imprisoned for life, and Edel returns to her home in Norway. Kahlen locates Anmai and promises to take care of her, and the two begin living on the farm. Several years later, an officer informs Kahlen that he is granted the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

, and that 400 new settlers will be arriving soon. Before that happens, a now teenage Anmai leaves with a group of Romani travellers. Kahlen leaves the moor and his title is annulled. He eventually frees Ann from a travelling prisoner cart, and they ride a horse towards the sea.

Cast

as Ludvig Kahlen *

as Ann Barbara * Simon Bennebjerg as Frederik Schinkel * Melina Hagberg as Anmai Mus * Kristine Kujath Thorp as Edel Helene *

as Anton Eklund * Morten Hee Andersen as Johannes Eriksen * Thomas W. Gabrielsson as Bondo *

as Hector *

Søren Malling Søren Dyrberg Malling (; born 3 February 1964) is a Danish actor. Career Raised in Kjellerup, Malling trained at Skuespillerskolen at Odense Teater in 1992. He is best known for his role as Inspector Jan Meyer in the Danish TV crime thriller ...

as Paulli * Morten Burian as Lauenfeldt * Jacob Lohmann as Trappaud * Olaf Højgaard as Preisler * Felix Kramer

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on 5 September 2022 and wrapped in early November of the same year. Filming took place on locations in Germany, Sweden, and Czechia.

Release

''The Promised Land'' had its world premiere on 31 August 2023 at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, to then screen on 7 September 2023 at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival. It was also invited at the

28th Busan International Film Festival The 28th Busan International Film Festival () opened on October 4 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. Song Kang-ho of ''Parasite (2019 film), Parasite'' fame welcomed filmmakers as host of the festival, while Park Eun-bin acted as ...

in 'World Cinema' section and was screened on 6 October 2023. It was released commercially on 5 October 2023, in Danish theaters. An NTSC DVD version was released in 2024, by Magnolia Home Entertainment. In this format the film can be watched in the original Danish, with or without English subtitles. This DVD also includes a dubbed English audio track and optional subtitles in English. The run time of this version is 127 minutes, which is same as the Cinema release

Reception

Critical response

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Promised Land (2023 film), The 2023 films 2023 biographical drama films 2023 multilingual films 2020s Danish-language films 2020s German films 2020s German-language films 2020s historical drama films 2020s Swedish films Danish biographical drama films Danish historical drama films Danish multilingual films Films about nobility Films based on Danish novels Films directed by Nikolaj Arcel Films produced by Louise Vesth Films scored by Dan Romer Films set in 1755 Films set in Denmark Films shot in Denmark Films shot in Germany Films shot in Prague Films with screenplays by Anders Thomas Jensen German biographical drama films German historical drama films German multilingual films Nordisk Film films Swedish biographical drama films Swedish historical drama films Swedish multilingual films Zentropa films