An old fashioned historic epic, with a cast of tens.
Yep, tens, maybe less. There are class clashes, racial clashes, religious clashes, gender clashes, family clashes, but they are chiefly one on ones. When ominous figures on horseback appear as dots on the endlessly flat horizon, they are but a few strong.
Probably historically correct as the battle of empty Danish lands, lands with but a few characters who have interest in the barren countryside. Enter Ludvig Kahlen, a self-made soldier of renown, hoping to be of fortune, with a far-fetched plan to turn the dusty heath into farmland. His folly of a quest is ridiculous enough to be dismissed by grander powers, yet Kahlen is surprisingly granted permission by the drunky King (eager to settle the space) to have a go.
Local nobleman De Schinkel has other plans, devious ones. Ruthless even. He is evil incarnate, and combats Kahlen at every turn. Conquest at all costs. And so it begins. Not only is the earth inhospitable, so are the neighbours. Sheesh.
"Bastarden" in Danish, a much better title, "The Promised Land" covers non-fiction past with a sprinkling of fictitious embellishment. But not too much. This plays true. People are dispatched. Weather battles crops. Alliances are forged. More people are dispatched. Romantic angles complicate things. That is when things really get going. A little bit of Clint Eastwood's man with no name westerns, a little bit of "There Will Be Blood" but with a farming angle, perhaps "There will Be Potatoes".
As the stoic, no nonsense soldier tackling hostile land for the King, Mads Mikkelsen and his weather-beaten face is perfect as the resolute hero. A granite slab of a man, forging silently ahead through a series of devastating setbacks, eventually revealing himself through the tumultuous toil.
This is a story of country, family and self, in proportional portions. A big film, sprinkled with lovely little moments providing just the right balance, one that could have easily sunk into sentimental waters but stays well afloat due to a buoyant performance from Mikkelsen.
Yep, tens, maybe less. There are class clashes, racial clashes, religious clashes, gender clashes, family clashes, but they are chiefly one on ones. When ominous figures on horseback appear as dots on the endlessly flat horizon, they are but a few strong.
Probably historically correct as the battle of empty Danish lands, lands with but a few characters who have interest in the barren countryside. Enter Ludvig Kahlen, a self-made soldier of renown, hoping to be of fortune, with a far-fetched plan to turn the dusty heath into farmland. His folly of a quest is ridiculous enough to be dismissed by grander powers, yet Kahlen is surprisingly granted permission by the drunky King (eager to settle the space) to have a go.
Local nobleman De Schinkel has other plans, devious ones. Ruthless even. He is evil incarnate, and combats Kahlen at every turn. Conquest at all costs. And so it begins. Not only is the earth inhospitable, so are the neighbours. Sheesh.
"Bastarden" in Danish, a much better title, "The Promised Land" covers non-fiction past with a sprinkling of fictitious embellishment. But not too much. This plays true. People are dispatched. Weather battles crops. Alliances are forged. More people are dispatched. Romantic angles complicate things. That is when things really get going. A little bit of Clint Eastwood's man with no name westerns, a little bit of "There Will Be Blood" but with a farming angle, perhaps "There will Be Potatoes".
As the stoic, no nonsense soldier tackling hostile land for the King, Mads Mikkelsen and his weather-beaten face is perfect as the resolute hero. A granite slab of a man, forging silently ahead through a series of devastating setbacks, eventually revealing himself through the tumultuous toil.
This is a story of country, family and self, in proportional portions. A big film, sprinkled with lovely little moments providing just the right balance, one that could have easily sunk into sentimental waters but stays well afloat due to a buoyant performance from Mikkelsen.
- hipCRANK.