In the XVIII century, a retired Danish army captain is a given barren crown land to try improve it, a task deemed impossible by most due to its poor soil conditions. If he succeeds, he will be given a title and become an aristocrat, his long held ambition. Growing crops in marginal land will not be his only challenge, he will have to face the unforgiving weather, the wandering outlaws, and worst of all, a megalomaniac aristocrat that does not tolerate a commoner owning his own land besides his manor.
The movie had all the ingredients to be a thrilling "Eastern" (a Western set in Europe) and to appeal to a broad audience, even American ones if done right. It does that during the first half, we see the captain struggling with all the aforementioned foes, and despite may setbacks, his unbreakable will prevailing. We accompany him in a journey of turning a desolate land and desperate people into a blossoming grove and a jolly community.
However, because of European pessimism or some other reason, all the hope built goes to naught in the second part as the movie descends into ever darker parade of explicit violence, cruelty, and revenge. The dreams, the hope of a better life of the first half we were starting to feel a part of are thereafter turned into nightmares, and the only hope that seems to remain is that of revenge.
It is because of this inexplicable dark and bloody turn in the second half that I cannot recommend this movie to a general audience. It is a pity that the director, maybe out of ideas, or wanting to avoid a happy outlook to life at all costs, chose to grip the audiences with shock value and hateful motives rather than more subtle character development (and believe me, the movie has an immense unrealised potential on this part).
Yes, in the last three minutes of the movie there is a sweet pill, but it happens so late, so randomly, that it might have as well not been there).
The movie had all the ingredients to be a thrilling "Eastern" (a Western set in Europe) and to appeal to a broad audience, even American ones if done right. It does that during the first half, we see the captain struggling with all the aforementioned foes, and despite may setbacks, his unbreakable will prevailing. We accompany him in a journey of turning a desolate land and desperate people into a blossoming grove and a jolly community.
However, because of European pessimism or some other reason, all the hope built goes to naught in the second part as the movie descends into ever darker parade of explicit violence, cruelty, and revenge. The dreams, the hope of a better life of the first half we were starting to feel a part of are thereafter turned into nightmares, and the only hope that seems to remain is that of revenge.
It is because of this inexplicable dark and bloody turn in the second half that I cannot recommend this movie to a general audience. It is a pity that the director, maybe out of ideas, or wanting to avoid a happy outlook to life at all costs, chose to grip the audiences with shock value and hateful motives rather than more subtle character development (and believe me, the movie has an immense unrealised potential on this part).
Yes, in the last three minutes of the movie there is a sweet pill, but it happens so late, so randomly, that it might have as well not been there).