L'hôpital et ses fantômes

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.........

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!

Simply one of the best and most original European tv series ever. So original, clever and visually groundbreaking it was way ahead of its time. Dont miss this one!

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