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The Kingdom (Riget)

The Kingdom (Riget)

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Creative, in the beginnig, yes! Oh, my God, by the end
Review: On vacation, cruising through Amazon.com, filling up my wish list, having things sent to me at the speed of light--or fiber optics and I decided to send a copy of Breaking The Waves to Aisha, the Actress. No such video available but a reference to earlier work. What the hey? My time is my own, right? Read the review, intriguing---remembered crying every time with BTW so I ordered it. It sat around for a week or two while I whittled down other selections and then I popped it in. First tape, it engrossed, pretty good, nice and creative, fun and the whole ghost angle was played up in a non-horror kind of way. Popped in the second tape the following night and it got more intense, more labyrinthine, more creative, more shake your head odd and bits and pieces started coming together like the photos of the dead girl and her father and the father or teh baby to be. Like the spirtualist who is clearly a bad mother but a good spiritualist who fakes neurological dysfunctions to ghost hunt. The doctor who's pregnancy comes to term from three months in two weeks. The Head of Staff who goes to Haiti for a zombification formula to deal with the quasi-hero. The final scene and exactly what is born will rock your head like jellybeans in the space shuttle because it is such a patient, easy film that builds and builds and builds to such a level of insanity that you only know it by looking back. How good is it? 12 hours later I was frantically on the Internet hunting down The Kingdom II, no Amazon doesn't have it, but I found a copy on Ebay and I got it at the Buy Now Price. That's how good this is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Yes! Yes! Yes!
Review: Refreshing, funny, original, scary, and downright good. The actors are excellent. The script is tight. The filming is incredible. There is a shot of someone walking by the emergency entrance to the hospital that made my skin crawl. This is a must-see for people interested in quality cinema (or TV, as the case may be). The only drawback is that he has only completed the first two parts of the series (four hours each), and the last part (another 4 hours) has yet to be finished.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful fun!
Review: Last weekend I saw The Kingdom II in the theatres, and it was wonderful! I can't wait to see the first one so that I can understand everything.

As a general review of the series, I thought that it was hysterical and creepy at the same time, and slightly gory (just once). Any comparison to David Lynch is an exaggeration, as The Kingdom is much better and much more creative.

I highly recommend going out of your way to see The Kingdom. It will be worth your search.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best 4 hours you'll spend!
Review: The Kingdom is a great movie. I originally saw it when it was first released in the US, and viewed it again this weekend.

The Kingdom is the most technologically advanced hospital in Denmark. Unfortunately it also has it's creepy past. Won't say anymore about that so as not to ruin the movie!

The characters are great, no single lead as it's an ensemble cast. It has multiple storylines and plot twists, it's not all horror in the classic sense of the term. It's an oddball movie, the type not usually done in the US. While some comments have been made comparing it to a David Lynch film, that doesn't quite hit the mark. Lynch wishes he could make a film like this, and it's got entirely its' own brand of weirdness.

Sometimes it's quite funny, sometimes creepy, sometimes very serious. The mood and atmosphere can change quickly, and the actors do a great job, especially Ernst-Hugo Järegård as the Dane hating Swede.

If you ever get the chance to see this, or Kingdom II, do so. Both films saw a very limited release in the US, and I thought these movies were both so good that I spent a small fortune importing the Japanese DVD's. That right there, should tell you how much I liked this movie!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstaningly haunting!
Review: I could not stop watching this incredible series. Even late at night, when you're very tired an you've put something on that you know will be very cool, but you also know that you'll probably not make it through-this is the kind of thing that keeps you awake till 3 or 4 in the morining. It's so engagin, so creepy and so intelligent, I found myself totally sucked in after the first hour. Amazing work, I can't say enough about it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Fun, But Don't Lose Too Much Sleep Over the Sequel
Review: This is a great deal of fun. A wee bit derivative, but still entertaining, and spooky, and oddly moving.

For those interested in the sequel, I would say don't worry about it. The sequel is rather dull, and gets very very very sentimental. Most surprising, considering the wit and edge of what is available here. It also ends with a rather disappointing cliff-hanger, that brought boos and hisses from the audience when I saw it last year.

Enjoy the Kingdom Part I. You don't need to see the sequel. It adds very little.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A shaggy-dog tale of Homeric scope
Review: Those seeing "The Kingdom" as a horror film are bound to be disappointed. It is really a left-handed, realistic view of human foibles in a surrealistic setting a la "Fargo." The film is most appealing to those who appreciate virtuoso character-acting and relish lavish swaths of irony. For example, what could be more ironic than a secret fraternity of doctors holding mystic, candle-lit initiation rituals during which they swear to uphold the scientific method? As for characterization, an encyclopedia could be written on Swedish "Consulting Surgeon" Ernst-Hugo Jaregard's jaw and lip, which masterfully portray at least 25 versions of dumbfoundedness. Holger Juul Hansen's Head of Neurosurgery made me cry with recognition of the dozens of avuncular and oblivious bureaucrats I have known. And so on through the 59(!) other roles, 100% of which are performed at a level at which only the top 10% of American actors can muster.

I am NOT anxious to see Kingdom II: the first series is a masterpiece in itself, a shaggy-dog story of Homeric scope.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Inspirational
Review: I have watched The Kingdom twice and it remains for me one of those rare productions that give me thrills of pleasure to talk or even think about. For a four-hour-long film it is surprisingly coherent yet contains so many scenes which stand on their own as true classic horror moments. Check out the masterly 'communion with the dead' sequences, one with a lightbulb and another with a candle which brought tears to my eyes, as it was both touching and genuinely scary. The look and style of the film are initially disorientating but perfectly suit the content, which links together a labyrinthine plot of bizarre and stilted events. It's all done with typical von Trier flair: the man himself makes a few hilarious entrances on the video version, congratulating himself for livening up our bland lives.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ER, The X-Files and Robin Cook all rolled into one.
Review: I caught this show on the Independent Film Channel last night and was blown away by it. This kind of programming could NEVER be made in the U.S. I alternately laughed and cringed. From the ghost of a little girl to the most disgusting childbirth scene ever, I couldn't believe my eyes. I almsot wished that I could have watched it without the subtitles because this is one film you need to concentrate on 100%. I can't wait to see The Kingdom II.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Weird!
Review: I enjoyed this film but boy was it wierd. The front cover said that it was like "ER on acid", but it was more like ER on crack. I started to watch the movie and thought it was boring for the first hour but once I got into it, I had to finish. My imagination is definitely running wild from this movie. This will be one movie that will stick in my mind.


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