Review - The Salvation

The Salvation is a 2014 Danish film, directed by Kristian Levring, the film boasts an very impressive cast including; Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Jefferey Dean Morgan and Jonathan Pryce.

The film is set in 1870s America, it focuses on Jon (Mikkelsen) a peaceful Danish settler,who after getting revenge on his family's murderers, which infuriates the local gang leader, Delarue (Morgan) who in turn wants revenge on Jon. The story isn't the most complex, actually it is rather simple but it is a very enjoyable ride. There are a few very exciting action scenes throughout the film but the real focus is on this man, Jon, who has lost everything and how he copes with that.


The film was very interesting being a Danish western, its nice to see a Western at all, they are probably the least made genre of film now days, so seeing a western is a pleasant surprise.
Mikkelsen is great in this role and it is nice seeing a different side of him, he tends to usually be a villain so i thought it was refreshing to see him the other way round. As was Jeffrey Dean Morgan who played a very good bad guy, he was intimidating and evil with a sympathetic side for his brother which was very intriguing. The most surprising actor in the film was Eva Green, who plays Madelaine, a mute widow, Green was amazing in the role and it was a surprise to see a character like this on screen, of course being a mute she couldn't speak at all and acted a lot with her eyes, but you knew exactly what she was feeling and wanted to say.

The film looks beautiful and is shot in Johannesburg, South Africa, they built sets for the town which looks exactly like you think a western town would look like.

The Salvation is a very fun, enjoyable film to watch, it boast great performances from the leads but isn't an absolutely must watch, but it is a nice place holder until the next great Western debuts.

3.5/5

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