It doesn't escape its own ascetic pretensions.
Comment
07/20/01
The King is Alive (2001)
60
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:65
Fresh:39
Rotten:26
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Though the plot feels rather contrived, the ensemble acting in this Dogme 95 film is good.
Theatrical Release:May 11, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: The fourth contribution to the grass roots Dogme 95 collective, THE KING IS ALIVE is a psychological horror film that uses a bleak yet beautiful African landscape to tell a haunting tale of human... [More]
Starring: Miles Anderson, Romane Bohringer, Bruce Davison, Brion James
Director: Kristian Levring
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Reviews for The King is Alive
Top CriticPulsing with color and movement in a vast, dune filled landscape, this is a whole new way of using a now familiar bag of tricks.
06/28/01
Top CriticThe King Is Alive intrigues mainly for its spare style and brittle, sweat-soaked performances.
06/22/01
You can take The King Is Alive as a bold gamble or a pretentious folly. No, take it as a pretentious folly.
06/15/01
There are dazzling bits of acting throughout.
06/15/01
Sinks under the weight of its ever more inescapably apparent contrivance.
06/15/01
Top CriticThe inherent strength of the age-old story, and the approach The King is Alive takes, are enough to keep our interest.
06/15/01
If the purpose of the story is to get us to dislike the characters, then mission accomplished.
06/15/01
Has its flaws, but remains a fascinating and strangely involving piece.
06/14/01
Thoroughly self-serving as well as pretentious and butt-numbingly dull.
06/14/01
Mostly deserves the hype.
06/11/01
The project seems unsure about how to push the fighting, trysting and synthesized misery to higher ground.
06/08/01
Top CriticLevring achieves a rich, color-saturated look at his exotic location of Kolmanskop, Namibia which is truly the star of his film
06/08/01
An exquisite construct.
06/07/01
May be the best Dogme95 film yet.
06/06/01
Ensemble acting has never felt so clean and unencumbered.
06/05/01
As their strength wanes and it looks like no one will ever come to save them, the story gets more and more intriguing.
05/31/01
A startlingly visceral film.
05/23/01
The more you appreciate what they're trying to do, the more you like it.
05/18/01
Top CriticThe King is Alive stands as a successful cinematic experiment and a gripping -- though a little too long -- study of humanity's most primitive instincts.
05/17/01
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