Rating: 
Summary: "DANISH SCUM!" -- ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Stig Helmer
Review: Lars Von Trier, like David Lynch, is an accomplished film director who plays with television narrative -- and succeeds. Just as Twin Peaks stymied North American couch potatoes, The Kingdom is a wild combination of soap opera, supernatural horror, morbid humor and a quirky cast of characters (best character: Stig Helmer, the Swedish doctor who hates all things Danish). Collecting the first four (or is it five?) episodes and presenting it as an extended film allows even the most televisionphobic filmgoer to enjoy its offerings. I've read how The Kingdom II has showed in American arthouse theatres, but so far it hasn't reached Canada -- I'm anxious to see the next chapter(s) in the theatre or on video.
Rating:
Summary: "E.R." Meets "Twin Peaks"
Review: This 5-hour marathon was originally a mini-series on Danish television, which partly explains the length. It won't take you long to get completely involved in the weird goings-on at the massive Copenhagen hospital complex named "The Kingdom", though, and once you're hooked, you'll want to savor every minute. The primary plot concerns a malingering woman's search within the hospital for the spirit of a young girl, but there's also a phantom ambulance, a secret society (complete with some really bizarre initiation rites!), a Greek Chorus doing the dishes, and at least a half-dozen sub-plots. Although there are some visually disturbing scenes, plus a few steamy ones, the overall tone is best summed up as "quirky humor". The vast impersonality of the hospital is conveyed through washed-out sepia-tinted shots of endless corridors and fly-over shots of the huge complex, but the halls are chock-full of nuts. The Swedish chief neurosurgeon, on the lam from Stockholm thanks to assorted misdeeds there, shouts his frustrations at the "Danish scum" from the rooftops. A resident takes *his* title quite literally, setting up living quarters in the basement, where he recycles pharmaceuticals and keeps tabs on who's up to what. A portly orderly, cowed into submission by his psychosomatic mother, wheels her throughout the building while she searches for the spirit of a young girl she believes was murdered. The loopy head of staff seeks to inspire the workers with a typically management-brain-dead scheme he proudly calls "Operation Morning Wind". If you like the movies of the Coen brothers ("Fargo", or "The Hudsucker Proxy") or if you enjoyed "Twin Peaks", this is *definitely* one to check out. And since this isn't enough in itself, yup, there's a five-hour *sequel*!
Rating:
Summary: Mad Genius!
Review: A fascinating ghost story set in a Danish hospital and created by the mad genius, Lars von Trier. This director is famous for Breaking the Waves and his new film, Dogville. However, The Kingdom is by far my favourite film he has directed so far. For more info on how to get The Kingdom 2. Contact godoge2000@yahoo.com
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Summary: Where, oh where can I find "Riget II"?
Review: "Riget" or "The Kingdom" is probably the most interesting movie I have ever seen. And I don't mean that in that "Ah, yes, you're new clay pot is, uh, interesting" kind of interesting. I mean it in the original form of the word meaning something to the effect of "This ain't like nothing I ever seen!" ER on Acid? Yeah, kinda. Søren Pilmark does kind of look like Anthony Edwards, especially if you add the "on acid." Like another reviewer, I wasn't thrilled with the Dishwasher Chorus duo, though I can see where their framing effect is helpful. Other than that this was dead on terrific. If you are trying to decide if you should buy a foriegn miniseries (as I was) then shrug and tell yourself It's only $ and go for it. I totally enjoyed this movie.But don't be surprised if you find yourself wandering the web looking for the 1997 sequel. And just so you know, the official site for "Riget II" is in Danish. And the translation sites don't really help that much. Which is a real shame, cause the site looks like lots of fun, very reminiscent of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Where, oh where can I find "Riget II"?
Review: "Riget" or "The Kingdom" is probably the most interesting movie I have ever seen. And I don't mean that in that "Ah, yes, you're new clay pot is, uh, interesting" kind of interesting. I mean it in the original form of the word meaning something to the effect of "This ain't like nothing I ever seen!" ER on Acid? Yeah, kinda. Søren Pilmark does kind of look like Anthony Edwards, especially if you add the "on acid." Like another reviewer, I wasn't thrilled with the Dishwasher Chorus duo, though I can see where their framing effect is helpful. Other than that this was dead on terrific. If you are trying to decide if you should buy a foriegn miniseries (as I was) then shrug and tell yourself It's only $ and go for it. I totally enjoyed this movie. But don't be surprised if you find yourself wandering the web looking for the 1997 sequel. And just so you know, the official site for "Riget II" is in Danish. And the translation sites don't really help that much. Which is a real shame, cause the site looks like lots of fun, very reminiscent of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece encompassing many kingdoms
Review: The Kingdom is the name of a gargantuan decaying hosital in Copenhagen where this amazing Lars von Trier Gothic television miniseries is set. of course, the title also refers to the kingdom of Denmark (in the staff meeting room where many scenes take place, the portraits of Queen Margrethe and her consort are prominently displayed), for which the hospital is a metaphor, and for the kingdom of society in general. And, as von Trier explains in his charming afterwords to the episodes, it also refers to the kingdom of the imagination itself. The miniseries works on all these levels. It's a quirky, incredibly atmospheric study of the hospital centering upon the discovery of the ghost of a girl murdered 75 years previously on the same site haunting the hospital, and it revolves around a giant cast of dozens of memorable characters, all of whom are intensely sympathetic even though they're pretty miserable human beings. The three at the core of the story are a malingerer, the septuagenarian medium Mrs. Drusse, obsessed with discovering the story behind a ghost; a blackmailer, the young and sexy Dr. Hook; and his nemesis in the neurology department, the jaw-droppingly arrogant brain surgeon Dr. Helmer, who had to take this job in Denmark (which he loathes) after being cast out of a job in his native Sweden under suspicion of plagiarism. Although the Gothic aspects to the story are beautifully brought out by the labyrinthine deserted basement hallways of the hospital and Von Trier's gorgeous sepia-tinted cinemtography, like all the best ghost stories the ghosts here serve as metaphors for what's wrong with the state of society in general. The miniseries is an amazingly funny satire on the dilapidated Danish health care system, and the film's funniest moments involve the attempts of the neurology department's manager, the marvelously manipulative and passive-aggressive Professor Moesgaard, to implement a hilariously inane PR campaign called "Operation Morning Air" that involves (among other things) having the neurosurgeons cheerfully sing introductions to one another at staff meetings. The series has often been compared to "Twin Peaks," but it's probably even better. Like the Lynch series it does a marvelous job of conveying atmosphere, but it is deeper and more carefully engineered and imagined. Though there are moments that sag (including the disastrous idea of having Dr. Helmer visit Haiti near the end, which jarringly breaks the miniseries' adherence otherwise to the Aristotelean unities by and large), as a whole it is a genuine masterpiece. It is one of the richest works for television ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I could give it a 6
Review: Sit back and enjoy the ride. It's weird, sometimes silly, but thoroughly captivating. I hate to bring up a boring old theme, but we in North America rarely come up with works of such subtlety. I have been watching 6 Feet Under and the comparison is stark. In Kingdom, the characters are flawed, interesting, and likeable. In 6 Feet Under, they are flawed, uninteresting, and unlikeable. It is scary to think that an American re-make of this is in the works. But, you never know...remember Twin Peaks (almost 20 years ago now!)?
Rating:
Summary: Original, intelligent and fabulous!
Review: Like most folks here, I loved this brilliant film, I've never seen anything like it. I think it's better than Twin Peaks, another great show. Unfortunately, the wonderful Swedish doctor died, does anyone know whether or not Lars Trier is going to try and finish the series without him? I can't imagine anyone taking his place, he was sooo good. I also caught Kingdom II on IFC, don't understand why they can get it and we can't. This series would be even more wonderful on dvd!
Rating:
Summary: I found Kingdom II aka Rigets II
Review: For all those enthusiasts you can find K2 on the international sites of Amazon[.com] in the auction areas. I found it in France, Japan, and the UK. Good luck and take the good with the evil
Rating: 
Summary: Kingdom II's Better
Review: Kingdom II would get 5 stars! Kingdom I is good, but Kingdom II is hysterical! I saw it on IFC (and stupidly did not tape it), and they showed the whole volume of Kingdom II, I was up till 6AM watching it, I was sO hooked. I liked it so much I bought Kingdom I on VHS, but it's half as funny (and scary) as Kingdom II. Now I'm searching everywhere for Kingdom II on VHS/DVD- and can't find it. Does anyone know the website of Kingdom's distributor so I can email them?
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