A funky and grotesque cup of bitter tea.
The Kingdom - Series One (1994)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:20
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.1/10
Runtime: 5 hrs 13 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: Director Lars von Trier puts his mischievous mind to work once again, this time creating a bizarre, humorous, and suspenseful tale about a Danish hospital that is haunted by ancient spirits.... Director Lars von Trier puts his mischievous mind to work once again, this time creating a bizarre, humorous, and suspenseful tale about a Danish hospital that is haunted by ancient spirits. Copenhagen's largest hospital is nicknamed the Kingdom, and there are many odd things happening inside of it. The strange members of the medical staff have to contend with such heinous matters as murder and malpractice, but also occurrences linked to the occult and the supernatural. When a hypochondriac patient--who also happens to be the mother of one of the staff's employees--begins to see the ghost of a young girl who is trying to tell her something, she unsuccessfully tries to convince the staff that she isn't delusional. It isn't until each individual begins to experience mysterious episodes for themselves that the Kingdom starts to collapse. Filmed for Danish television in four separate hour-long episodes--"The Unheavenly Host," "Thy Kingdom Come," "The Living Dead," and "A Foreign Body"--von Trier's quirky drama builds in tension up to its shocking finale. [More]
Starring: Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, Kirsten Rolffes, Ghita Norby, Udo Kier
Starring: Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, Kirsten Rolffes, Ghita Norby, Udo Kier
Director: Lars von Trier
Director: Lars von Trier
Composer: Joachim Holbek
Producer: Ole Reim
Story: Niels Vorsel, Lars von Trier
Screenwriter: Tomas Gislason, Lars von Trier
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Reviews for The Kingdom - Series One
A lunatic, Twin Peaks-like meld of black-comedy soap and Z-grade horror flick that looks like an instant cult item.
A compulsive, bizzarely plausible witches' brew of interweaving storylines, conspiracy theories and paranoiac visions, held together by manic conviction right up to its Grand Guignol finale.
By deliberately blurring the distinction between highbrow and trash movies, the director mocks his own inclinations toward a Wellesian grandiosity. The strategy allows him to flaunt a liberated cinematic imagination with nose-thumbing glee.
Ghostly little girls, doomed romance, haunted ambulances, exorcism, medical malpractice, mongoloid seers, demon dogs, heads in lockers, unearthly pregnancy and Udo Kier: Who could ask for anything more?
Most of the time, the movie is just plain weird, and it defies description in any other way.
The show is very well acted and produced, cleverly written for the most part and generally quite entertaining.
A mouthful to swallow. Its presentation is flustered. The taste is bitter.
This might be more fun on TV once a week, which is what it was designed for.
While its sheer length makes The Kingdom demanding, it is not only as rewarding as many other ambitious screen odysseys but a lot more fun.
A sumptuous feast of the sublime and the bizarre, both darkly comic and deeply disturbing.
Clips along because of the intimate interplay among a handful of fascinating characters.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
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