El reino

The closest that American television has even come close to "The Kingdom" was the recent Stephen King mini-series "Storm of the Century." Still, even this was nowhere near as engaging as this Danish mini-series. Practically none of this would ever get through through censors here.

Loopy hospital drama, restless spirits, an incubus, Voodoo... it's all here, it all makes perfect sense and it is a series that leaves one screaming for more when it ends (I will be scouring this city for "The Kingdom II" before the week is over). I won't ruin a bit of it, other than to say the closing scene shocked me so much that my original critical summery cannot be printed here. Truly amazing film-making, and definitely a glimpse of what television could be without all the censors and constant pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Lars von Trier's weird, crazy TV show about a haunted hospital with an amazing atmosphere and a great cast. Shows that you don't need a lot of money as long as you've got great actors, good writing and the perfect location. Shot entirely on an ordinary video camera, this is "no budget" Arthouse cinema. The second part of the series is just as good, and I only wish we would have gotten the originally planned third part as well, but the untimely death of the lead actor sadly prevented this from ever happening. Still, let's enjoy what we got. 9 stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495

I have a weak spot for Danish cinema and TV. I think that their filmmaking is anchored to reality. Even if "Riget'' is a show about the supernatural, the narration and some of the events told feels likely to happen. No crazy monster or unjustified and over the top violence. Lars Von Trier managed to keep my interest for all the episodes, while he slowly unveils the mystery. It is a balanced series with peculiar characters having parodistic traits. I believe that this is why this show works well: there are scary elements, but it does not take itself too seriously. The show is entirely set in a hospital and it is the perfect location for this story, with all its long corridors and creepy basements. The acting is good and it looks natural, nothing feels forced and I enjoyed the Ernst-Hugo Järegård performance. Out of all the characters, I think that Stig was the most interesting one. I also enjoyed Søren Pilmark: Hook is the proper anti hero of this story. I liked how he handles certain tough situations with biting sarcasm. Sigrid Drusse together with Bulder are the perfect ghost hunters couple, that will enable the entire supernatural storyline. At the beginning this is marginal, but then it will gradually become central towards the end of the first season and it will then be enriched during the second one. In 2022, after more than 20 years, we finally have a closure to this story. "Exodus" feels at times more like a reboot rather than a proper continuation. To be honest I was not very convinced by the pilot, it looked very strange and illogical, but then things get better in the mid-season. I think that the director did the best he could with what he had, considering that most of the main cast is dead. However, Von Trier managed to call back quite a few original members, and this was a good gift to all the fans of the show. I was very happy to see Willem Defoe taking part in this project. "Riget" is truly a different ghost story with an original plot. Compared to his other jobs, it is not as graphic, so potentially there is room for a larger audience pool. My final score is 8 stars out of 10.

Lars Von Trier perfects his dogme style with this fascinating Horror satire about a haunted, bizarre hospital. I watched both this and `The Kingdom II' back-to-back over one night and I must say the six hours just flew by. I've never had so much fun watching a television series before. Every thing was brilliant, the casting and sepia toned style helped give a reality of the situation and a labyrinthine theme to the hospital itself. All the actors were wonderful and totally believable. I hope they make more episodes soon; I'm hooked...

I am becoming fascinated with Lars von Trier. After seeing 'Zentropa', 'Breaking the Waves' and 'The Idiots', each movie different from the last, and each a minor masterpiece. Now I've watched another piece in the puzzle of his career, the fantastic (in all meanings of the word!) mini-series 'The Kingdom', and I'm once again hugely impressed! I can't think of any contemporary American or British director with his range or inventiveness.

'The Kingdom' concerns a large and sophisticated Danish hospital which is being haunted by ghosts. The doctors who work there are an eccentric bunch at the best of times, and things get progressively weirder. 'The Kingdom' successfully juggles humour, mystery, horror, soap opera and surrealism in a way not seen since 'Twin Peaks'. I found it to be compulsive viewing and can't wait to get my hands on the sequel, which sadly is nowhere to be found in Australia.

'The Kingdom' I'm sure will one day be regarded as a television classic. It's THAT good. I loved it, and hopefully you will too. Hats off to von Trier!