Mads Mikkelsen stars as a war hero in The Promised Land, the epic historical drama film selected as the Danish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. Also starring in the drama film are Amanda Collin, Gustav Lindh, and Melina Hagberg.

It is based on the book The Captain and Ann Barbara by Ida Jessen

Release Date

Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, The Promised Land world premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, and opens in theaters with a release date of February 2nd, 2024.

Synopsis

In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) – a proud, ambitious, but impoverished war hero — sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. He seeks to start farming crops, build a colony in the name of the King, and gain a noble title for himself. This beautiful but forbidding area also happens to be under the rule of the merciless Frederik De Schinkel, a preening nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power. Struggling against the elements and local brigands, Kahlen is joined by a couple who have fled the clutches of the rapacious De Schinkel. As this group of misfits begins to build a small community in this inhospitable place, De Schinkel swears vengeance, and the confrontation between him and Kahlen promises to be as violent and intense as these two men.

Reviews

Praising Mads Mikkelsen’s performance in the film as magnificent in their review, Hollywood Reporter wrote, “Reuniting the director with Mads Mikkelsen after their compelling 2012 collaboration, A Royal Affair, the new film shows once again that period pieces can be vigorous, powerful and emotionally stirring, this one enriched by themes of class, racism, sexual abuse, labor exploitation and chosen families. It’s a handsome production that displays all the virtues of assured old-fashioned storytelling without a trace of stodge.”

Official Trailer

Watch the official trailer for The Promised Land.