The Promise Land (2023) - Ambition and Social Acceptance

As time goes I'm trying to change the type of content I post, I have transition from something very simple to long posts with complex images to something now a bit more simple but I'm also not forgetting of my long narrated posts with complex images.

Going through the calendar of movies and tv series found The Promise Land (2023), this is not exactly the type of movies I would watch just for the fun of it, it was recommended by multiple websites as it seams to be a done deal, a certified ripper but what got me eye on it was Mads Mikkenlsen, this guy is the personification of been weird, interesting and savage depending on the production he is in, The Promise Land still to make its debut on theaters is a story set in 18th century Denmark about the life of Captain Ludvig Kahlen, a Danish officer of humble origins, as he undertakes a search for land, honor and justice after his retirement from the German Army.

Captain Kahlen's return to his native Denmark as the tries to build up a settlement against all odds, a man of honor who probably expected too much of a system he have work for many years and now that system will try to stop and taking away from him what was giving, Kahlen will be tesdted both phisicall and mentally as Frederik de Schinkel will try to break him many times showing off his power to the point of taking more than just the land away from Kahlen.

Frederikde Schinkel, played by Simon Bennebjerg is a brutal and arrogant land baron who will make Kahlen live impossible to even breath, he will try at all cost to take away the land he was given but the worst part is that this land was harsh and suppose to be the worst to cultivate but Kahlen was decided to make things work at all cost.

Making this movie was not an easy task, it requried multiple proxuction companis from what I have search online, production on and from three different places Denmark, Germany and Sweden. Nikolaj Arcel, the director, known for his versatility in different genres, for example a movie not many enjoy but I did, The Dark Tower. The collaboration with co writer Anders Thomas Jensen and the adaptation of Ida Jessen's book, “The Captain and Ann Barbara”, added content to the story. The world premiere at the 80th Venice International movie Festival and subsequent selection for Best International movie at the 96th Academy Awards increased global anticipation.

Nikolaj Arcel, the director of The Promised Land, is a well known Danish movie maker and screenwriter, not that I know many but while gathering information about the movie his name came up multiple times when looking for movies from Denmark, Arcel is known from previous movies he have work on, some of the are well known like A Royal Affair and The Dark Tower from 2017, Arcel's ability to create and bring to life stories that actually gets into your head and leave a mark, in different genres has established him as a director that can lead a production worth watching and create an impact on the audience, in fact Arcel has mentioned that he has the idea of ​​​​making a movie within each genre before he goes away from the industry has already been through political thriller, adventure, generational comedy, science fiction, this reflects its ability to adapt to different styles of productions.

The movie's main cast includes Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg and Kristine Kujath Thorp. Mads Mikkelsen, a well known Danish actor who is very familiar to the American audience although the rest of the cast is not but while I look for their previous work there are couple of movies that came up on the list like The Northman where Gustav Lindh work on and the TV Series Raised by Wolves where Amanda Collin is one of the protagonists, both Collin and Lidhn form part of a couple Captain Kahlen hired to keep up and watch for his land.

When I look up for details and some experiences the cast go through while moving I found that after season two of Raised by Wolves, Amanda Collin was free to start shooting, it look like she enjoy The Promise Lans since she express how she was very excited about the project, she was more closer to home Denmark, she took her family with her too the shooting site as she had a baby at that moment, its not easy been into a production that takes you many miles away from home, not able to be with your family and friends so when this kind of opportunities arrive its a no brainier besides the role she play on the movie is of a women who value herself more than anything, more than money and what society could validate, this in fact is shown on the trailer how she challenge Kahlen by telling him he is expecting validation from his friends and that the king he talks about doesn't knows who he is.

“Professional critics” highlight how The Promised Land carries a significant message, exploring how personal ambitions become nothing without the foundation of love and compassion. The themes of conquering the wasteland, pride and unbreakable determination makes a loud noise, making the movie more than just a historical drama, but a reflection on human nature and society. The movie has been well received by the general public, with a high score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it would not be strange with the outstanding performances, especially that of Mads Mikkelsen.

This type of movies always strike me as how can they be so entertaining, you go into two hours movie and basically transport into this era, history well narrated and actors performance can come to life, make you want more and know more of what happen during those times, its like this humans you are watching on the screen are from another world as they talk, dress and behave different than how we do now, history is always intriguing and keeps us moving forward. The Promise Land shares many factors that still play a role in today's time like society acceptance, extreme show of power from those at the top, accept what life's gives you at some point in time how workers hired by Kahlen accept basically a failed project from the start since most known its close to impossible to cultivate the land the are working in. The Promise Land is going to be a must watch for me on 2024.