Review of The Salvation (2014) by Jeremy R — 04 Jul 2015

In a genre where everything possible so far has been made, it is very difficult, if not impossible to come up with anything new, original or different. Surprisingly, The Salvation is a bleak, old-fashioned and predictable Western which is bolstered by cool-blooded Danish-flavored direction, outstanding performances and pleasing simplicity.

Jon is an ex-Danish soldier who escaped to the Wild West after Denmark's defeat by Germany in the 1860s. After he finally manages to re-unite his wife and son, they get brutally killed. When Jon takes his revenge he unleashes a further blood-bath as it happens that one of the guys killed by him is the brother of a former US colonel who is currently leading a ruthless gang. With the wrath of the gang unleashed, it is a question of who will survive: Jon or Colonel Delarue.

Simple, straight-forward and powered by the ultra-coolness of Mads Mikkelsen, The Salvation is an old-school depiction of justice, grit and revenge. Kristian Levring's movie falls short when it comes to story complexity, but it also never aspires to be too smart or too art. It attempts to remain truthful to the genre without going into too much sentimentality or sub-plot lines. In the end, this works pretty well and The Salvation turns out to be a pretty enjoyable Danish example of what an excellent Western should be.