In this epic historical drama Mads Mikkelsen plays a Danish explorer facing the seemingly impossible task of building a settlement on near-barren 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 spiteful ruler swears revenge. However, 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.
"When I had the utterly transformative experience of becoming a father a few years ago, I began viewing my past films through a new lens. While I remain proud of the work (most of it, anyway!), it reflects the outlook of a man with a single purpose: a passionate dedication to creating stories and art... but not much else. The Promised Land grew out of that existential reckoning, and is, by far, my most personal film to date. /.../ I wanted to tell a grand, epic tale about how our ambitions and desires will inevitably fail if they are all we have. Life is chaos; painful and unpleasant, beautiful and extraordinary, and we often cannot control it." (Nikolaj Arcel)