'The Promised Land' delivers epic Nordic Western

Boston Herald ^ | February 2, 2024 | James Verniere

[sphinx]

...Nikolaj Arcel’s “The Promised Land,” Denmark’s submission for the foreign-language Oscar, has everything you want in an epic film: struggle, romance, period detail, violence, great acting, atmosphere, unforgettable images, a hero played by the great Mads Mikkelsen, a despicable villain and German potatoes. In yet another awards-worthy performance, Mikkelsen plays Ludvig von Kahlen, the 18th century bastard son of a maid and a land owner, who was sent off to the German army as a boy. Having returned to his native Denmark in 1755, Captain von Kahlen (Mikkelsen) has a plan to work the non-arable soil of the Danish “heath” aka the wild Jutland and transform it into farmland....

“The Promised Land” begins as a portrait of a man who will go any any lengths to succeed in his quest. His greatest obstacle is not the sandy, rocky soil. It is his nobleman neighbor, the lord of Hald Manor, Frederick De Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg)....

[moovova]

I’m a big fan of Mads so I’m there! Thanks for the ping.

[Ransomed]

Yes, Valhalla Rising was really great. The Pusher series of movies by the same director is a pretty interesting look into the danish crime underworld.

Freegards

[sphinx]

I hadn’t thought about listing recommendations on my FR homepage. I need to noodle on that. I’ve posted suggestions from time to time in discussion threads, but those lists are usually pretty topical and make sense in the context of the discussion, and those lists change a bit depending on the context.

Since this has become a hobby, I do keep track of other freeper recommendations. There are probably many apps that make this easy, but I use Letterboxd, which I recommend to everyone. I discovered it after I had my Road to Damascus moment, realized that I had a huge blindspot, and started poking around. It is a great place to find recommendations, scan viewers’ reviews, log one’s own viewing, and keep a watchlist. It also has a reliable “where to watch” feature, which will show everywhere a film is streaming and, if it’s not available to you free, how much it will be to buy or rent online.

I know freepers are an older crowd, but I am still amazed at how often someone will say that he doesn’t have access to some recommended movie or show because it’s not on Amazon Prime or Netflix or whatever. This is written by someone sitting at his computer and joining an online discussion board. Someone pass the smelling salts. Anyone can pay a couple of bucks and watch it on the computer. This is the digital equivalent of buying a ticket, and if it is a good movie, it is the best way to cast a vote in favor of more of our kind of movies being made.

[fella]

Reminds me of a book called “Hatchet”.