The Promised Land (aka Bastarden) is a 2023 Danish historical drama directed by Nikolaj Arcel, who co-wrote it with Anders Thomas Jensen. It stars Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, and Simon Bennebjerg.
The plot concerns Ludwig Kahlen (Mikkelsen), a bastard-born commoner turned army captain who proposes to become the first Dane to start a colony for the king in Denmark's vast Jutland moors. However, he runs afoul of a local magistrate who claims ownership over the land he farms, triggering a bitter feud.
The Promised Land features examples of the following tropes:
- 10-Minute Retirement: After her husband's death, Ann Barbara decides to leave the farm. However, she returns just minutes later, determined to get revenge on Schinkel by helping Kahlen till the land.
- The Alcoholic:
- Schinkel is a complete drunk. In one of his early scenes, he fills a large wine glass all the way up to the rim and then begins drinking straight from the bottle. This is what eventually gets him killed.
- The Danish king is said to drink all day long. His Treasury members assume that he has no idea what's going on in the kingdom. Truth in Television for Frederick V.
- All for Nothing: Kahlen is frequently forced to choose between a distasteful action or abandoning his farm, making all of his efforts for nothing. In the end, Kahlen could have waited for the colonists to arrive and become a wealthy baron, but he abandons his farm for love.
- And This Is for...: When Ann Barbara castrates Schinkel, she says, "This is for Johannes."
- The Artful Dodger: Anmai Mus is a precocious thief, liar, and pottymouth, though it's only because of her rough upbringing. When adopted by Kahlen, she grows into a sweet and loyal girl.
- Bad Boss: Schinkel is a brutal master. Johannes has fled serfdom under Schinkel and bears many whip marks on his back. He is also seen casually tossing a maid out of a window on a whim.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Bondo, Schinkel's right-hand man, is forced to do all the thinking and try to be the voice of reason in the man's ear.
- Beneath Notice: Ann Barbara manages to sneak back into Schinkel's mansion by disguising herself as one of his maids.
- Best Served Cold: Ann Barbara gets her revenge on Schinkel by sneaking into his household, poisoning his wine, and stabbing him to death.
- Bittersweet Ending: Kahlen abandons his farm to rescue Ann Barbara, so all of their efforts were for nothing, but at least they have each other. Meanwhile, Anmai Mus gets married to a fellow Romani, rejoining her people, but she'll likely never see Kahlen or Ann Barbara again.
- Blood from the Mouth: Schinkel spits blood after Ann Barbara stabs him in the guts.
- Call-Back:
- Early in the film, Ann Barbara says that she wants to go somewhere by the sea. Kahlen later lets Anmai Mus believe that she's gone there. In the end, Kahlen takes her there himself.
- Early in the film, Anmai Mus tosses a decorated stick at Kahlen's feet. When he picks it up, the Romani inform him that it signals that he's part of her clan, so he tosses it back to the ground and tells her that he's not in her clan. Later, when the pair have bonded, he fetches the stick and shows it to her, signaling that he has in fact become her Family of Choice. In the end, a Romani suitor presents his own stick to her, and she picks it up, agreeing to join him and leave Kahlen for her own life.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Schinkel has Johannes killed by repeatedly dumping boiling water on him.
- The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: When a prisoner dies due to Schinkel's Cold-Blooded Torture, he and his croney assert that the man's death was just an unfortunate accident, and no one could have foreseen it.
- Crippling Castration: As a coup de grace, Ann Barbara castrates Schinkel.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance:
- Johannes Eriksen is an escaped serf who is considered an outlaw for fleeing his master.
- Romani are outcasts in Denmark. Hiring them for farm work is illegal. Anmai Mus is considered "bad luck" by other German colonists, who refuse to allow her to even be near them. Even among her fellow travelers, she's considered lesser for being dark-skinned.
- The Determinator: Absolutely nothing can dissuade Kahlen from cultivating the heathland, come rain, come shine. Cold, starvation, death threats, attacks on his settlement and brutal killings of his workers do little to shake his unwavering resolve. Despite it paining him to do so, he even sends Anmai Mus away to an orphanage to avoid losing a team of xenophobic, superstitious workers from Germany.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Schinkel says that he changed his name from "Schinkel" to "de Schinkel," an obvious attempt to sound noble. Nobody calls him that, however, and he's constantly correcting people as a Running Gag.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- We first see Kahlen in a poorhouse for war veterans putting on his fancy uniform with his war medal. In his next scene addressing the Treasury, his personality is revealed to be stoic, stubborn, blunt, and exacting.
- In his first scene, Schinkel is getting his portrait drawn of him pantomiming a bear hunt. He's a vane and false blowhard. Later, he invites Kahlen to dinner for the express purpose of insulting and browbeating him.
- Anmai Mus tries to con Kahlen in her first appearance but screams and flees when Kahlen shoots her conspirator.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Schinkel tortures an escaped serf at his fancy party and is surprised that his guests find the spectacle dismaying.
- Evil Is Petty: When Kahlen arrives at Schinkel's residence for a seasonal party, Schinkel forces him to remove his wig and put on a ridiculous one instead.
- Family of Choice: Kahlen, Ann Barbara, and Anmai Mus gradually become a family unit.
- Friendly Tickle Torture: To highlight the growing closeness between Kahlen and Anmai Mus, Kahlen playfully tickle-tortures her in one scene.
- Good Shepherd: Anton Eklund is a local clergyman who is a Nice Guy and supports Kahlen, even helping him work his fields. When false charges are brought against Kahlen, Eklund takes a stand and threatens to testify on his behalf, which gets him killed.
- Grapes of Luxury: When Kahlen visits Schinkel's mansion to warn him against interfering with his project, Schinkel is seen seated at his dining table, with grapes prominently displayed in fruit bowls, symbolizing his wealth and indulgence.
- Heroic Bastard: Schinkel snidely notes that Kahlen's mother worked for Schinkel's father, who infamously slept with all his female servants, and Kahlen is his spitting image. Toward the end of the film, Kahlen admits that his father did not sire him.
- Invisible President: The king is only in one scene, and we only see the back of his head. His name is never given, though he would be Frederick V.
- Literal Metaphor: Kahlen is forced to take a bribe from Schinkel to abandon his claim to his land. Schinkel also "gifts" the starving Kahlen with a bucket of leftovers from his feast. Afterward, however, Kahlen comes to the bitter realization that he's both literally and figuratively eating Schinkel's scraps. He dumps the bribe money into the bucket of slop and has it sent back.
- Love Triangle: Kahlen is in love with the beautiful and wealthy noblewoman Edel Helene, who will marry him if he succeeds in becoming a lord with the year. However, the recently widowed Ann Barbara is lonely, and the nights are cold, so they start shacking up. She states that she knows his heart belongs to another, and hers does too. However, they quickly form quite a Family of Choice with Anmai Mus.
- Nobility Marries Money: Edel Helene is an Impoverished Patrician whose father is planning to marry her to her cousin, Schinkel, who has wealth but a less prestigious family line.
- No Kill like Overkill: Schinkel gets poisoned, stabbed and castrated.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We see only the aftermath of Kahlen's rescue of Ann Barbara: the ransacked prison wagon and broken handcuffs.
- Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Kahlen, in his 60s, faces off against the much younger antagonist Schinkel, who is in his 20s.
- Orphanage of Fear: When Kahlen is forced to send Anmai Mus away, it's to an orphanage. It's implied that she's worked to the bone there. We see her scrubbing floors and hauling a bucket nearly as large as her. Kahlen ultimately rescues her and apologizes for sending her there.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- The local bailiff is a stick-in-the-mud who always complains about his hemorrhoids when called upon to do anything, but he performs his job honorably and supports Kahlen when he can.
- Only one member of the Treasury sees the value in what Kahlen is doing. When Schinkel makes false charges against Kahlen, he's the only one who urges the Treasury to at least get Kahlen's side of the story before passing judgment.
- The Reveal: Kahlen keeps the crop he intends to cultivate a secret from everyone. Midway through the film, he finally reveals it to be potatoes imported from Germany.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Edel Helene returns to Norway after helping to murder Schinkel, breaking off her engagement with Kahlen.
- Serial Rapist: Accompanied by one or two of his guards, Schinkel will sexually assault his female servants, even going so far as to brag to Edel about the number of servants he's "broken in".
- Settling the Frontier: Kahlen is determined to establish a settlement on the Jutland heath and prove that the untamed, barren moorland can be cultivated, having to contend with harsh weather, dangerous outlaws, and a corrupt local landowner.
- Shoo the Dog: In a poignant scene, Kahlen sends Anmai Mus away to the orphanage. Neither of them wants this, but circumstances force his hand.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Anmai Mus swears repeatedly due to being raised by vagabonds, something Kahlen eventually succeeds in breaking her out of.
- A Taste of the Lash: After his arrest for killing an officer, Kahlen is brutally whipped by Schinkel's men.
- Time Skip: The ending features a time skip of approximately 10 years, showing Anmai Mus now grown into a young woman.
- Took a Level in Kindness: At the beginning of the film, Kahlen is blunt and strict, caring only for his bottom line of getting his farm running. By the midpoint of the film, he's formed a new Family of Choice and become a more caring person.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The movie is based on a book called "The Captain and Ann Barbara" by Ida Jessen, which is loosely based on the true story of Captain Ludvig Kahlen. The writers took significant creative liberties with the source material.
- Violence Is Disturbing: Despite her complicity, Edel Helene is disturbed by the murder of Schinkel. She returns to her family in Norway immediately afterward.
- The Western: The film is very much a classic Western about a Determined Homesteader Settling the Frontier, but set in 18th-century Denmark instead of 19th-century North America.