The Salvation

this is probably one of the best western in years. It's a dark and harrowing film, a la "the proposition" or "unforgiven". This movie is not for the squeamish: innocent people are killed without a thought, and the film does a good job portraying the lawlessness and "anything goes" ethos of the times. Mads Mikkelsen is excellent as a hardworking taciturn Danish immigrant who's spent years trying to make a living in this land of opportunity. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes when he brings his family to the country, and then the rest of the film is basically about survival and revenge. At 1.5 hours, the pacing is good, and there are no unnecessary scenes or fat bogging down the story. Action scenes are realistic and very well done, and there's some pretty good cinematography throughout. All in all, a very well crafted and entertaining Western!

Set in the Old West in 1871 we meet Jon (Mads Mikkelsen)and Peter (Mikael Persbrandt) both soldiers who fought in the war of 1864 in their old country. Here Jon has been waiting to be reunited with his wife and son after a seven year gap. Only as soon as they arrive they befall a terrible crime and the only way Jon is going to be able to re right the wrong is by fighting back.

Now to say any more could be a plot spoiler – needless to say this is a classic western of the revenge genre. It paints the bad guys really bad and the good guys flawed but essentially 'right'. There is ambiguity too and there are the townsfolk with their own agendas and greed and power stalking the prairie.

What makes this outstanding is the acting, the musical score, the make up and the fantastic direction. Director Kristian Levring is clearly a fan of John Ford and those of you who know your westerns will see a few shots framed a la 'The Searchers'. Still I see this as flattery and this is truly an excellent film that will only go to prove that as a genre the western is alive, kicking and doing really well – absolutely recommended

The classic western story has been done again and again, a thousand times over. A hero is wronged, he seeks revenge, gunfights ensue, retribution is attained. It's a classic formula, and fuels countless films in the genre, even today. The tricky part is, getting all the elements right. The story is a blueprint, and all other aspects must be implemented skillfully for that blueprint to result in a worthwhile finished product. The Salvation gathers a wicked cast, a beautifully twangy, reminiscent soundtrack that brings a nostalgic tear to the eye, and stunning, drone and crane centred camera work to weave us a tale that kept me enraptured from start to finish. I haven't seen a western this gorgeously rendered since John Hillcoat's The Proposition, or as unforgiving and tragic on that note. Mads Mikkelsen stoically plays Jon, a Danish immigrant in the dust haven of America's west. Mikkelsen is an actor who can say more with two seconds of silent, eye twitching screen time than eight hundred pages of dialogue, making him the perfect fit for a tortured western protagonist. On the first day he is reunited with his wife and ten year old son, they are slaughtered by evil outlaws (an opening sequence of heart wrenching dread that will leave you with a dry mouth) prompting him to take swift revenge. They happened to be affiliated with the biggest, baddest gang boss gunslinger in the region, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I've been waiting for Morgan to get a role worth his talent since Watchmen, and he takes full advantage of his ruthless prick character, injecting every moment with malice. The two are pitted against each other in a hard bitten, economically dry town with a bitter atmosphere appropriate to the depressing nature of the story. Caught between is mute Eva Green as Princess, a prisoner of Morgan's clan and survivor of maiming in her youth, at the hands of natives. Green has no dialogue, but can fill a scene with thunderous, glowering presence, and is one of my favourite actresses working today. All the elements mix perfectly, from story, which is standard but given new vital signs by the lush production design, acting and especially the score, a sadly meandering rhapsody that prompts dreams of tumbleweeds, tragedy and hard men doing bad things in the name of revenge.

By the Danish, and why not? Especially if it's done as well as this was/is. Mads Mikkelsen has proved himself worthy of leading roles even in (his not native tongue) English. But there is a bit of Danish thrown into the mix with this. But it's not the spoken language that will get your attention with this movie.

It's the framing, it's the "picture" language it speaks. This looks as down and dirty as Westerns come and it does a really good job throwing us into a situation Western fans know very well. So while the story itself is not new, we do get a very well made movie, that you should be able to enjoy a lot.

If you like traditional westerns you will enjoy this film.

These days you don't get to see American westerns very often, so is nice to see that genre is not dead thanks to productions like this one from Denmark or others like The Dark Valley (Das finstere Tal).

Mads Mikkelsen plays the main character with great professionalism, without excesses. Same thing with Eva Green, portraying a scarred mute woman that talks only with her eyes.

You have the good guy, the VERY bad guy, the town full of cowards, the tormented girl, the backstabbing character. All the things you expect to find in a good old western. If you add to that the good performances, my only advice is, see this movie.