Bastarden / The Promised Land Review: A Harrowing Epic

Bastarden / The Promised Land is a tale that grips with its astounding scale, as much as it does with its story, stakes, and unexpected emotion.

One of the many treats of attending a film festival the caliber of Venice, is the chance at witnessing wonderful cinematic treats from a wide range of filmmakers from all around the world, with different cultural backgrounds and distinct stories that perhaps are told in ways not many of the major releases one is naturally aware of do.

One of these treats this year comes in the form of Nikolaj Arcel’s (The Dark Tower) who helms and co-writes with Anders Thomas Jensen (Riders of Justice) an adaptation of Ida Jensen’s homonymous novel: Bastarden (English Title: The Promised Land).

Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Bastarden / The Promised Land would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.

The year is 1755, and Jutland is starved for produce and prospects. Knowing this, low-born captain Ludvig von Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) arrives to the Royal Treasure Committee ask to earn a living by cultivating the barren land, where the only thing that abounds are desperate nomadic people, in exchange for a title under the king and house, where he can govern over his own settlement, but as he begins to gather forces, tools and resources for this settlement, Kahlen immediately collides with the powerful landowner Frederik de Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg) thanks to the lord’s greedy intentions, who demands Kahlen’s loyalty and servitude.

One the surface, it is a familiar story we’ve seen many a times before, one that at points perhaps coasts slightly too comfortably on the melodrama generated by its characters thanks to flawlessly committed performances from a superb cast, but it is nevertheless the kind of story Arcel and Jensen know to tell with effectiveness as they squeeze the well-earned drama & conflict with each key beat and increase stakes and tension effortlessly.

Bastarden / The Promised Land tells a story of conviction, of understanding and one of pride told through the prism of the beloved “underdog story” as it positions Mikkelsen’s underestimated captain as a lone wolf against the world, as the elite coasts on the laurel and feats of others, including Kahlen himself who fought in wars to bring Denmark to where it finds itself currently even if it did take him 25 years to become captain due to his low birth but never for his qualities as a soldier or loyalty as a subject.

What is so clear from the past works of Arcel & Jensen is their disdain for those born into privileged positions of power, how they respect and understand struggle, conviction and those who earn what one is given in life. A quality that is once more present in Bastarden / The Promised Land , which contains multitudes in regards to its commentary on the elite and the powers that be who seek to control and undermine its people, how they covet service instead of being of service to their people.

Such feeling are embodied by the stoic & stern Ludvig who Mikkelsen plays with commanding bravado, he is a worn out general aware of his lot and rank in life, with no delusions about trusting those above him, a man whose goodness, if it was ever there before, has been beaten out of him by his father: a house lord who enjoyed abusing his staff, eventually impregnating one of his housemaids who gave birth to Kahlen giving the house lord just another victim to impose his power and maliciousness upon. Kahlen is aware what others think of him and his plan to populate the heath with food, water, and settlers, and he doesn’t care.

Mikkelsen’s silent intensity in Bastarden / The Promised Land demonstrates the sheer will of a man with nothing to prove to others and nothing to lose either, in fact… his goal is to obtain something he can cherish and truly call his own. This life he so willingly fights off meets the expected challenges but also brings along unexpected support from a local priest and a Colonist who offer Kahlen two runaway servants of De Shinkel who seek refuge and are willing to work for it. This is a trouble the captain does not wish for but respects their resolve enough to bring them along.

All the while, the young nomad Anmai Mus (Hagberg Melina) takes a liking to Kahlen as well as the food he provides and repeatedly attempts to win his endearment, bringing the captain to reach out to the nomads which the insecure de Shinkel sees as an afront to his position, as so the stakes rise as more and more De Shinkel seeks to force Kahlen into an agreement: be it by inviting him to parties so he can shame his low birth, making a show out the consequences of undermining his authority in a house party full of high society guests who witness De Shinkel’s cruelty as he burns a servant to death with boiling water.

Despite this, de Shinkel’s so mad with power and tunnel visioned on intimidating Kahlen he pays no mind to his fellow lords & ladies and even his fiancé, who begins to fall for Kahlen’s stern but honorable ways, all the while de Shinkel insists on this mental chess game only he is interested in playing.

Bastarden / The Promised Land is a ruthless, robust tale of a man vs the system which consistently seeks to undermine his efforts and enjoy the spoils of his labours, one which sees as much violence and brutality as it does scale & scope: the vast harsh landscape is visually engrossing, one can’t help but feel the burning sun over Kahlen’s head as he works the fields, or the freezing frost which shakes his bones while saving an endangered orchard. The quality of performances across the board more than match the quality of the immersive period-piece: the always reliable Mads Mikkelsen once more commands the screen as the strict soldier with a buried heart of gold.

His “no time for your bullshit” attitude plays a perfect foil to de Shinkel’s pathetic ways, building a memorable rivalry that constantly reminds the audience who is in actual control of their relationship. De Shinkel easily becomes one of the year’s most despicable villains thanks to the slimy ways he repeatedly uses to sabotage the work of Kahlen and those who support him, including the king himself. De Shinkel’s cruelty is seemingly limitless, and it builds to a satisfying crescendo that offers all kinds of sweet comeuppance.

However, not all is sweetness by the end, Kahlen’s unshakeable resolve costs him much along the way, as he is still a lowborn citizen after all. Arcel’s narrative builds him in such a way where we get more & more glimmers of his humanity and eventually see him as a man of the people, yet one full of scorn and disdain for the very possibility of betrayal and abandonment, which allows for a genuine amount of emotion to break through his rocky surface and his goals begin to realign with what truly matters to him, something he discovers along the way. Mikkelsen plays to this nuance magnificently, showcasing vulnerability in a man as a real strength and not a weakness.

Arcel & Jensen collaboratively craft an epic tale that is as big in scope as it is earnest in emotionality, familiar on the service but a nevertheless effective tale that compels and surprises with its fantastic characterizations which explore morality in a setting and a time where trust and resources rarely found their way to those who deserved it. Creating a riveting and sneakily emotional story of a man with nothing to lose whose efforts build him a life he doesn’t believe himself worthy of.

Bastarden / The Promised Land is a grand harrowing epic commanded by the ever impeccable Mads Mikkelsen.

A tale that grips with its astounding scale, as much as it does with its story, stakes, and unexpected emotion.

FINAL GRADE: B+

NEXT: Maestro Review: Lacks Depth Despite Bradley Cooper’s Passion

About Bastarden / The Promised Land

In 1755, the impoverished captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal: to build a colony in the name of the King. In exchange, he’ll receive a desperately desired Royal name for himself. But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless Frederik de Schinkel, arrogantly believes this land belongs to him.

When De Schinkel learns that the maid Ann Barbara and her servant husband have escaped for refuge with Kahlen, the privileged and spiteful ruler swears revenge, doing everything in his power to drive the captain away. Kahlen will not be intimidated and engages in an unequal battle—risking not only his life, but also that of the family of outsiders that has formed around him.

Bastarden / The Promised Land premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.