3 Best Movies to Watch by Thomas W. Gabrielsson

Staff & contributors
In The Promised Land, director Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) and Mads Mikkelsen reunite to create another intense, enjoyable drama based on true historical events. Mikkelsen is reliably gripping as Captain Ludwig Kahlen, but it’s his back-and-forths with the diabolical landowner Frederik Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg) that are the standout scenes here. And though The Promised Land resembles modern Westerns in its macho standoffs and sweeping backdrops, it has a surprising and satisfying feminist bent to it. It’s a historical epic that doubles as a revenge thriller and succeeds in both cases.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Adam Pengsawang, Amanda Collin, Arved Friese, Felix Kramer, Finn Nielsen, Gustav Lindh, Jacob Ulrik Lohmann, Joen Højerslev, Karel Heřmánek, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Lise Risom Olsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Magnus Krepper, Martin Feifel, Michael Brostrup, Morten Burian, Morten Hee Andersen, Nanna Finding Koppel, Simon Bennebjerg, Søren Malling, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Zdeněk Dvořáček

Director: Nikolaj Arcel

If you’ve been paying close attention to Royal Families in general, then get a snack and settle in, because A Royal Affair’s got it all for you: the steamy scenes, dirty, affair-laden hands, the corsets, and a stunning backdrop of 18th Century Europe. Quite literally deranged and mentally incapable King Christian of Denmark (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard) marries the brave Princess Caroline of Great Britain (Alicia Vikander), only to find out that he isn’t cut out for the wedded life. Enlightenment comes in the form of Dr. Johann Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen), a German physician to the infantile King and true-born reformer. Mostly saddened by her unfortunate fate, the now-Queen Caroline finds herself falling in love with the intellectual; thus, beginning a whirlwind of events that shakes up the entire Kingdom.

Genre: Drama, History, Romance

Actor: Alicia Vikander, Bent Mejding, Cyron Melville, Daniel Bambas, David Dencik, Frederik Christian Johansen, Harriet Walter, Ivan G'Vera, Ivan Vodochodský, Jacob Ulrik Lohmann, Jakub Albrecht, Jan Krafka, John Martinus, Julia Wentzel Olsen, Karel Polišenský, Karin Rørbech, Klaus Tange, Kristian Fjord, Laura Bro, Mads Mikkelsen, Michaela Horká, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Morten Holst, Nikol Kouklová, Nikolaj Arcel, Peter Varga, Petr Janiš, Rosalinde Mynster, Søren Malling, Søren Spanning, Tereza Terberová, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Trine Dyrholm, William Jøhnk Nielsen, Zinnini Elkington

Director: Nikolaj Arcel

Rating: R