L'hôpital et ses fantômes

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!

Few films have had me in their grip as von Trier's THE KINGDOM. Difficult to describe in words. Basically a horror epic that takes you to a hospital that no self-respecting human would set foot in. The camerawork is a real feat of genius. Why? Well, for such jerky movement to hold my attention for 4 AND ONE HALF HOURS I have nothing but admiration.

And it made me want to see Part II immediately after! Come to think of it, if Lars wanted to, he could have made it a week long marathon and I would have forgone sleep to see it's conclusion! Bring me buckets of espresso and bags of sugar! I ain't goin' anywhere.........

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

The Kingdom (Riget I) is quite simply a classic work of modern cinema. It's creepy, it's funny, it's emotional...and so much more. It grabs the viewer and does not let go until the end of each episode. Then, you want to view the next episode right away! It is like a great book which keeps you turning the pages one after another, after another...

I first saw The Kingdom on video and was blown away by the odd characters and the peculiar script of ideas. The story gets even more bizarre and twisted in Riget II, which has never been officially released in North America...but is available as an import for those interested. The full series is something I feel the urge to view again on a regular basis. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I've owned four subsequent editions on VHS and DVD. The official released 4-DVD import set from Denmark is the best, containing the full uncut versions of Riget 1 & 2.

The choice of the actors and actresses turned out perfect for the series, it is these performances that make The Kingdom work so flawlessly well. Ernst-Hugo Järegård & Kirsten Rolffes are the two most memorable roles in the series, and it is sad that they've both passed away. This is unfortunate as there would have been a Riget III to finish off the complete tales of The Kingdom, according to the words of Von Trier at least. It looks like that a Part 3 will never happen though, since two of the best leads of the project are gone forever.

The way The Kingdom was filmed has a stylish look that is very organic, believable, and creepy when it needs to be. They tried many things to get a deliberate "dirty look" for the series, and I think they hit the mark dead on.

Stephen King also happens to be a fan of The Kingdom, and is currently working on a longer North American version of the series. I've heard it will be fully over 20 hours, but that could be just a wild rumor. I am skeptical that this will work, but we'll just have to wait and see what it's like. Perhaps Part 3 of the story will finally get completed in this version. I'm sure I will always enjoy Von Trier's original the most, but it would be nice simply to know how the unfinished story of Part 3 evolves and is concluded...

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.