Fresh off its fall festival circuit run, including its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, “The Promised Land” will finally arrive in US theaters next February. That’s plenty of time for audiences to catch up with the historical drama before it might vie for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film in March. Time will tell if Denmark’s submission for the award makes the cut. But given the movie’s strong reviews, expect “The Promised Land” at the Academy Awards.
And Nikolaj Arcel‘s film played just about every major festival this Fall. After its Venice premiere, “The Promised Land” also screened at Telluride, TIFF, AFI Fest, San Sebsastian, and elsewhere. That’s quite the comeback for Arcel, whose last film was the abysmal 2017 adaptation of Stephen King‘s “The Dark Tower.” “The Promised Land” is an altogether different film than that one, though: a historical drama set in Arcel’s native country about a real-life 18th century war hero who attempts a near impossible task.
Here’s an official synopsis for “The Promised Land,” courtesy of Magnolia Pictures:
In 18th century Denmark, Captain Ludvig Kahlen – 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.
Mads Mikkelsen stars as Ludvig Kahlen, with Simon Bennebjerg as De Schinkel. “The Promised Land” also stars Amanda Collin, Gustav Lindh, Melina Hagberg, and Kristine Kujath.
Along with directing, Arcel co-writes “The Promised Land” with Anders Thomas Jensen, adapting Ida Jessen‘s “The Captain And Ann Barbara.”
As noted earlier, “The Promised Land” has received positive marks from critics. The Playlist’s review of the film out of Venice said “the film’s very topical feminist and even anti-landlord themes do not feel shoehorned in but are simply part of an unassuming yet rich landscape.”
“The Promised Land” hits theaters on February 2, 2024. Watch a trailer for the film below.