Review of The Salvation (2014) by Ola G — 26 Jul 2015

The peaceful danish settler Jon Jensen (Mads Mikkelsen) and his brother Peter Jensen (Mikael Persbrandt) who've emigrated to America after fighting the Germans in the Schleswig War have found a new life in America. Jon´s wife Marie Jensen (Nanna Øland Fabricius) and his son has finally made it to America and Jon is pleased to reunite with his family. On the stagecoach taking them to Jon´s home they are accompanied by two shady characters. Eventually the two men threaten Jon and his family and in the altercation Jon is thrown out of the stagecoach. He runs after the stagecoach and soon enough he finds his son dead in a ditch. When he finally catch up with the stagecoach the driver and his associate are dead and all he wants is to save his wife. He eliminates the two murderer, but finds his wife dead. Stricken by guilt and remorse he finds no other way then to leave his home with his brother and find a new place to settle. Jon´s action on his family's murderer unleashes however the fury of the notorious gang leader Henry Delarue (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the brother of one of the murderers. When Jon is trying to leave the town and the surroundings he is caught up by Delarue and his men and a battle for life and death begins...

I was´t sure if Kristian Levring was going to deliver a danish western we would believe, but he does that and more. We haven´t seen that many westerns with Scandinavian roots and this is a great example. We get a believable, dark and uncompromising visual western set in a classic western atmosphere. Teaming up Mikkelsen and Persbrandt works quite good and adding the oh so lovely and radiant Eva Green (the eyes......) plus the evil as only he can be Jeffrey Dean Morgan there´s plenty to be pleased with. I need to praise Levring for the cinematography and the colours are so vivid, so strong and so eyepiercing. Just magic widescreen visuals in my book. I love the opening sequence with blurred images at the station house. And I love how Levring enhance the beautiful surroundings through the cameralens. Mikkelsen is always good and this is no exception. Persbrandt is maybe a bit more wobbly, but he is pretty good as well. Eva Green doesn´t have to say anything as her fantastic eyes says everything. She has such a strong character in the mute Madelaine and she is the one who shoots Delarue in the end. And by saving Jon from Delarue she has earned her salvation, as Jon earned his by avenging his loved ones' murder. Cred to the costume design by Diana Cilliers as well. Love particularly how Eva Green has been dressed up, her hair and all the details on her. Yes, "The Salvation" is riding on most western clichés and you can find several hints to Sergio Leone (The scene where the Mayor/Undertaker is arriving in his own coffin at Delarue´s place is such a Leone/Eastwood scene). But, that´s ok since it´s handled in a great way. And at same time there´s plenty of things that makes this movie stand out in the western genre. I love the end scene where Madelaine and Jon leave Delarue´s place revealing a landscape of primitive wooden structures drilling for oil that seems to lurk like an evil being in the desert. Turning their back on wealth and what comes with it. Their will to start a new life together away from this place of death and deception is stronger. "The Salvation" is well crafted, entertaining and well worth a watch if you love the genre.