In 1755, Captain Ludvig Kahlen, an impoverished Danish officer of humble birth, retires after 25 years of service in the German Army with a measly pension. He obtains permission from the Royal Danish Court to build a property on the barren Jutlandmoorland for land cultivation. He hopes to establish a settlement on this land, and in return for that he requests from the Court the privilege of a noble title with an associated manor. Soon after arriving at the site of his prospective homestead, he comes into conflict with Frederik Schinkel, a local magistrate at the nearby Hald Manor and merciless landowner who has been trying to monopolize ownership of the moorland.[12]
Schinkel does his utmost to make a workforce unavailable to Kahlen, who covertly employs and harbors Johannes Eriksen and his wife Ann Barbara, two of Schinkel's indentured serf farmers who broke their contract and fled Schinkel's mistreatment. After being led to their camp by Anmai Mus, a Romani girl he catches trying to steal from him, he also hires the "Tatere" Romani Travellers as workers, despite this practice being illegal. In the meantime, Schinkel's cousin and betrothed Edel Helene is not interested in marrying him, but her father insists on the marriage due to Schinkel's substantial wealth, unless she can come up with an alternative suitor within a year.
At a harvest ball, Edel meets Kahlen secretly and share a kiss to seal the understanding that if he can acquire a noble title within the year, they will marry, offering her an escape from the union with her cousin. Towards the end of the party, Schinkel reveals that he has recaptured Johannes while he was on his way to the coast to acquire clay for Kahlen's farm. The escaped serf is tortured to death with boiling water by his former master in front of appalled party guests. Kahlen takes Johannes' body back to his wife; seeing the boiled body of their fellow worker, the Travellers leave Kahlen's employment, though Anmai manages to stay behind. Despite multiple challenges during a brutal winter, with Ann's and Anmai's help, Kahlen manages to plant the potatoes brought from Germany and harvest 80 sacks. In the process, the three form an unofficial family; Kahlen and Ann start a sexual relationship.
When the King receives report of the successful harvest, he orders the establishment of a settlement on Kahlen's estate. Kahlen is conferred the title of Royal Surveyor, and 50 settlers from Northern Germany are sent to his land. The superstitious settlers are repulsed by Anmai, though she manages to stay out of sight and learns reading and surveying from Kahlen.
Furious at Kahlen's success, Schinkel imports convicts to attack the new settlement, killing two settlers and half of the livestock. In revenge, Kahlen and a few settlers attack and kill the perpetrators in their hideout, though he is forced to send Anmai away in exchange for their help. This betrayal also causes Ann to leave. Schinkel's officer, Preisler, witnesses the killings and flees. Schinkel and his fellow estate owners report this to the king's cabinet; the new settlement's ownership is transferred to Schinkel, and Kahlen is arrested.
While Kahlen is being tortured at Schinkel's estate, Ann sneaks in and prepares a poisoned drink; Edel leads Schinkel into drinking it. While he is incapacitated, Ann comes in and stabs him in the stomach and castrates him. Butler Bondo explains everything to the king's cabinet; Kahlen is released, Ann is imprisoned for life, and Edel returns to her home in Norway. Kahlen locates Anmai and promises to take care of her, and the two begin living on the farm.
Several years later, an officer informs Kahlen that he is granted the title of baron, and that 400 new settlers will be arriving soon. Before that happens, a now teenage Anmai leaves with a group of Romani travellers. Kahlen leaves the moor and his title is annulled. He eventually frees Ann from a travelling prisoner cart, and they ride a horse towards the sea.
It was released commercially on 5 October 2023, in Danish theaters.[24]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 108 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Mads Mikkelson leads us through the savage terrain of The Promised Land with a glimmer of hope in this epic Nordic tale with Western bones."[25]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[26]
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