The Salvation (2014) (English & Danish Language)

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Review

92min

Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Jeffrey Dean Morgan…and more

Writers: Kristian Levring, Anders Thomas Jensen

A Danish immigrant in the late 19th century American west finds himself in the crosshairs of a ruthless outlaw when he kills the gang leader’s brother for murdering his wife and child, as the local town collapses under the weight of corruption and fear revenge is the only redemption for a man left with nothing.

‘The Salvation’ is a Danish production featuring a multinational cast of Scandinavian, British and American actors filmed in South Africa, a true product of a global movie industry that attempts to tell a small story of an immigrant nation from a distinctly immigrant perspective, one of the few things that sets this film apart from the many others in one of the most oversubscribed genres in cinema.

Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, King Arthur) stars in the archetypal Western role of the brutalized mysterious man who seeks revenge on a powerful and brutal assailant, ‘The Salvation’ is clearly influenced by Clint Eastwood’s 1992 classic ‘Unforgiven’ in terms of story, tone and style, like pretty much every modern western has been since, all-in-all a gritty ultra-realistic and stylish revenge drama.

And that’s pretty much it, there’s nothing more here that we haven’t seen time and again in what is a simple but effective if unmemorable film, there is a very thin thread of social commentary on the corruption of the old west and a tie-up to the beginnings of the rush for oil that surpassed the gold rush and changed the country, but essentially it’s no more than your classic revenge Western.

An entertaining way to kill an hour and a half and featuring a strong central performance, ‘The Salvation’ is a clichéd but stylish and gritty drama infused with Scandinavian stoicism but not offering anything new to an overdone genre.

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Unforgiven (1992)

Oscar-winning modern western classic, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as an outlaw turned family-man farmer who comes out of retirement for a job with rare moral justification that turns into a revenge mission against a brutal sheriff and his corrupt town.

Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman among others.