The Salvation

A western made by the Danish director Kristian Levring. Jon is a Dane who emigrated to America years earlier. His wife and son finally join him. On the day they arrive they are killed by two men travelling in the same coach. Jon does not leave it unanswered, and one of the men he kills turns out to be the brother of Delarue, who rules the town. What follows is whether the town will hand Jon over: the people are afraid, the mayor and the preacher are calculating, and nobody objects. Madelaine, played by Eva Green, does not speak; her tongue was cut out years before and the entire performance is carried by look and gesture. The director was one of the signatories of the Dogme 95 movement. This film works in exactly the opposite aesthetic: widescreen, heavy colour grading and composed frames. It was shot in South Africa. Mads Mikkelsen plays Jon and Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays Delarue. A well-made example for anyone who likes hard, short westerns. For a viewer looking for something new, the film barely alters the genre's known shape; its strength is in form, not story.