The Promised Land

So much pain and despair over a few potatoes, only for the main character to finally understand what’s most valuable in life. The chess pieces in the genre almost never make an unexpected move, and that makes the game all the more calming. The black bishop, with his depraved mannerisms reminiscent of Roth's character in Rob Roy, versus the tenacious white king, whose heart softens at the expense of something hardening. Will salvation be found on the home moor? Will love sprout before the potatoes? How much spilled blood will end all the adversity? Did you see Mikkelsen’s fleeting gesture as he blessed the lifting of the stick from the ground? This can’t end worse than a draw... Fire kartofler! (09/05/2024)

A gritty low-budget historical drama that can hold its ground compared to its Western friends. A fine Mads Mikkelsen as a soft-spoken retired captain, a great villain escalating the pissed-offness of both the protagonist and the viewer, and a magical landscape of Danish moorland wilderness, very impressively shot by Rasmus Videbaek. I expected a tougher finale, but it somehow fell into a romantic template, but it was not a big deal and Bastard retained its toughness and dignity. (04/20/2024)

Flawless, suffocating, absorbing and emotional. I love this Danish intimate filmmaking, and when a sound name in the director's chair (just look for yourself what this god has made), the brilliant, Oscar-winning Mads Mikkelsen and a well-played theme come together, it's a win-win. From the beginning, from the viewer's perspective, you just can't help but root for the main character's plan and wait to see where it all goes. As the characters arrive, each one iconic and fresh enough to garner further sympathy, we fill the screen with A-list characters, and once the main villain (read a sleazy, disgusting, twisted motherf*cker, the kind that hasn't been on screen in quite some time and who we'd probably all like to see dead right away) appears, things get progressively more intense. The story unfolds brilliantly, the characters and their fates equally so, and we're treated to historical drama, even brutal gore, and a few twists that turn the plot 180 degrees and shuffle the viewer's cards nicely. In the end, I'm completely satisfied and it's clear that the North is just somewhere else and can produce with grace an intimate historical gem that I would otherwise avoid by a mile, but here I simply can't help but give it a full score. (01/02/2024)

Great. Old-school attitude and Mads Mikkelsen's stubborn expression in a solid film with a great script that grabs you by the heart. Danish moors and beautiful shots of the rugged landscape. And, of course, there's one motherfucker you wish the worst for, wondering the whole time why the captain didn't put a bullet through his head right from the start. A great story with a strong conclusion and a worthwhile point. (01/05/2024)

The Danish Braveheart, or everything that we could have hoped for from a historical drama starring Mads Mikkelsen. A principled protagonist with good intentions, whom we identify with and understand, even with his faulty decision-making; the two women who love him (one platonically); an adopted vagabond girl who brings family values into the story; a villain whom we would gladly disembowel even at the risk of losing our own freedom. Most of the film’s runtime is filled with safe, predictable clichés, but the inner motivations and fortunes of all of the characters ultimately and meaningfully intersect in the cathartic and emotional climax with a nice intellectual reach. The Promised Land is a powerful film that’s worthy of the big screen. [San Sebastian IFF] (09/26/2023)