The Promised Land (2023) review

Former soldier Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen), who lives in a 'poorhouse for veterans,' has the radical idea that he can "tame" the harsh Jutland region (in order to grow potatoes) so he hires runaway farmers Johannes (Morten Hee Andersen) and his wife Ann Barbara (Amanda Collin) to provide assistance and takes in a Tatar girl named Anmai Mus (Melina Hagberg) ... but their presence irritates wealthy Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg), who wants Ludvig off the land.  It's adapted from the novel by Ida Jessen and loosely based on a true story, although the details are "dolled up" and it's purposely shaped into a "romantic epic" (of sorts): Kahlen falls in love with Schinkel's spouse-to-be Edel (Kristine Kujath Thorp), hired marauders kill off the German settlers, Kahlen is forced to "give away" Anmai Mus (her "dark skin" supposedly means she's "bad luck") and Schinkel is a flamboyant ninny who rapes and tortures at will.  Still, Mads and his trademark glare carries the entire Brontë-esque project all by his lonesome - his character is stoic but not completely heartless - and in the end he saves the kid, lets her go free when she becomes an adult and then rescues the lady who wasn't his first choice, but makes for a dependable companion.