The Promised Land is a historical drama set in Denmark in the early 18th century. A retired army captain (Mads Mikkelson) plans to turn a barren heath into successful farmland but makes a powerful enemy in the local magistrate.
Running time in a movie is an unpredictable thing. Sometimes three hours can go in the blink of an eye. Sometimes a far shorter time, on paper, seems to go on forever.
A Danish film called The Promised Land was one of the former. It was slow, but it was engrossing. Of course, it didn't hurt that it starred the always-intriguing Mads Mikkelson.
Another reliable name is veteran screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen, once a stalwart of Denmark's famous Dogme movement.
But most of all, I'm a sucker these days for a historical movie - particularly when it's a place and a period I know next to nothing about.
In the 18th century, the barren Jutland heath to the north of Denmark was virtually uninhabited, but technically owned by the King.
Demobbed soldier Ludvig has plans to make the desert bloom, so to speak, in exchange for his own estate and a title. The King gives his permission - if he can pull it off.
But Ludvig has an implacable enemy - the wealthy magistrate De Schinkel, who owns the neighbouring lands, and assumes the whole territory is his too.
To ensure this he does everything he can to run Ludvig off. And the film The Promised Land is what happens next.
It should be pointed out that Ludvig - Mads Mikkelsen - is decent and hardworking rather than particularly heroic. He certainly has no interest in a war with De Schinkel - 20 years fighting pointless wars all over Europe were enough for him.
But he's not going to give up either. What he needs is people to help him clear the land.
His first two workers prove to be mixed blessings. Johannes and his wife Ann Barbara were indentured serfs for De Schinkel - essentially slaves. If Ludvig wants them he'll have to hide them from his neighbour.
But he clearly needs more than them.
And the only people available are currently the bane of his life. These are the Tatere - Romany outlaws who keep raiding his henhouse.
In the spirit of "better in the tent than out", Ludvig offers the Tatere work and to everyone's surprise, they agree. He also gets support from another unexpected quarter.
De Schinkel's aristocratic fiancée takes a shine to the strapping farmer, which may help him socially but does nothing to help the already bad blood with his neighbour.
Will Ludwig's motley crew of farm workers and gypsies be any match for De Schinkel's well-armed militia? And is a possible title really worth all this aggro?
Hard not to be reminded of another costume drama - the popular British TV show Poldark, with its poor but honest farmers up against rich and unscrupulous ratbags.
Or possibly a European version of a frontier Western, with herds of cattle replaced by Ludvig's hardy root crop.
But this is Denmark, not the Wild West. And the laws that govern the land have been established for centuries, and don't favour a poor farmer with no family name behind him.
We see how unjust these laws are when Johannes the runaway serf is caught outside Ludvig's farm.
The brutal punishment De Schinkel exacts on his former property is particularly harrowing as it's, apparently, totally legal. What chances does Ludvig have when he has no protection from the corrupt powers that be?
The Promised Land is a real Danish saga - two steps forward, one step back all the way through.
But keep an eye on the cute gypsy kid Anmai Mus and the runaway serf's wife Ann Barbara.
The original book was called The Captain and Ann Barbara, though writer Anders Thomas Jensen favoured the more muscular title Bastards. Once a Dogme writer, always a Dogme writer, I guess…
Vintage historical drama, with the emphasis on the history and the drama, rather than the usual cosplay. And a great vehicle for Mads Mikkelson to boot.
It was well over two hours long, but I was still sorry when it was over. Good stuff!
