Plot: A mysterious voice calls upon the sleep walker, Karen, during a nightmare. The Kingdom is in need of her assistance, and at the hospital, she finds an ally in the porter, Bulder.
Review: Lars Von Trier is a filmmaker who has amassed a cult following thanks to his unique brand of storytelling and boundary-pushing cinematic experiments. From Melancholia to Antichrist, Nymphomaniac to Breaking the Waves, Von Trier has accomplished everything from musicals to dramas and more. His exercise in small-screen storytelling, The Kingdom (aka Riget), has itself garnered a distinctive cult following for its combination of medical soap operas and supernatural thrillers. Spread over two series of four episodes each that premiered in 1994 and 1997, The Kingdom also spawned an English-language remake courtesy of Stephen King. Now, twenty-five years since the series left off, Von Trier concludes The Kingdom with a five-episode closing series subtitled Exodus. An absurd blend of...
Review: Lars Von Trier is a filmmaker who has amassed a cult following thanks to his unique brand of storytelling and boundary-pushing cinematic experiments. From Melancholia to Antichrist, Nymphomaniac to Breaking the Waves, Von Trier has accomplished everything from musicals to dramas and more. His exercise in small-screen storytelling, The Kingdom (aka Riget), has itself garnered a distinctive cult following for its combination of medical soap operas and supernatural thrillers. Spread over two series of four episodes each that premiered in 1994 and 1997, The Kingdom also spawned an English-language remake courtesy of Stephen King. Now, twenty-five years since the series left off, Von Trier concludes The Kingdom with a five-episode closing series subtitled Exodus. An absurd blend of...
- 12/1/2022
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
This review originally ran September 2, 2022, in conjunction with the miniseries’ premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Lars von Trier’s “The Kingdom Exodus” warrants comparison with David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: The Return” for multiple parallels between the two: Both are peak prestige TV with indelible auteurist hallmarks, returning for their third seasons after a quarter-century hiatus. Both invoke the supernatural, concoct elaborate lore and boast captivated cult-like followings.
Though the Danish “Kingdom” is of course much lesser known, its first two seasons did make enough of a cultural impact through international theatrical runs to spawn a Stephen King–created American remake, “Kingdom Hospital.”
“Kingdom Exodus,” making its world premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, gets much more meta. In the cold open, Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) watches von Trier’s signoff from the previous season’s finale on TV. Frustrated by the series’ loose ends, she heads to bed and...
Lars von Trier’s “The Kingdom Exodus” warrants comparison with David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: The Return” for multiple parallels between the two: Both are peak prestige TV with indelible auteurist hallmarks, returning for their third seasons after a quarter-century hiatus. Both invoke the supernatural, concoct elaborate lore and boast captivated cult-like followings.
Though the Danish “Kingdom” is of course much lesser known, its first two seasons did make enough of a cultural impact through international theatrical runs to spawn a Stephen King–created American remake, “Kingdom Hospital.”
“Kingdom Exodus,” making its world premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, gets much more meta. In the cold open, Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) watches von Trier’s signoff from the previous season’s finale on TV. Frustrated by the series’ loose ends, she heads to bed and...
- 11/26/2022
- by Martin Tsai
- The Wrap
Lars von Trier is opening up about his Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis.
The “Antichrist” auteur was diagnosed four months prior to the 2022 Venice Film Festival, where the long-awaited Season 3 of “The Kingdom” premiered 28 years after the TV show first debuted.
During a press conference at the festival, the director admitted to having Parkinson’s symptoms for a long time prior to an official diagnosis.
“That means that I had not lived up to the way I wanted to be as a director, because I was ill,” Von Trier explained to Variety. “And that’s a pity for the [‘The Kingdom Exodus’] actors, but I think they did Ok.”
Von Trier confirmed that he will “take a little break” to focus on his health. “The Kingdom Exodus” is his first project since 2018’s “The House That Jack Built,” which debuted at Cannes.
“I will take a little break and find out what to do.
The “Antichrist” auteur was diagnosed four months prior to the 2022 Venice Film Festival, where the long-awaited Season 3 of “The Kingdom” premiered 28 years after the TV show first debuted.
During a press conference at the festival, the director admitted to having Parkinson’s symptoms for a long time prior to an official diagnosis.
“That means that I had not lived up to the way I wanted to be as a director, because I was ill,” Von Trier explained to Variety. “And that’s a pity for the [‘The Kingdom Exodus’] actors, but I think they did Ok.”
Von Trier confirmed that he will “take a little break” to focus on his health. “The Kingdom Exodus” is his first project since 2018’s “The House That Jack Built,” which debuted at Cannes.
“I will take a little break and find out what to do.
- 9/1/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Danish auteur Lars von Trier is coming to terms with continuing his distinguished career with Parkinson’s Disease, which he has been diagnosed with.
The filmmaker did a press conference and select media interviews via Zoom for the Venice Film Festival, where his latest work, Mubi and Viaplay series “The Kingdom Exodus,” premiered. He was diagnosed some four months ago, but has had it for a longer time, von Trier said in a group media interview.
“That means that I had not lived up to the way I wanted to be as a director, because I was ill. And that’s a pity for the [“The Kingdom Exodus”] actors, but I think they did okay,” von Trier said.
When asked by Variety about what he would work on next, given his current medical condition, von Trier said: “I will take a little break and find out what to do. But I certainly hope...
The filmmaker did a press conference and select media interviews via Zoom for the Venice Film Festival, where his latest work, Mubi and Viaplay series “The Kingdom Exodus,” premiered. He was diagnosed some four months ago, but has had it for a longer time, von Trier said in a group media interview.
“That means that I had not lived up to the way I wanted to be as a director, because I was ill. And that’s a pity for the [“The Kingdom Exodus”] actors, but I think they did okay,” von Trier said.
When asked by Variety about what he would work on next, given his current medical condition, von Trier said: “I will take a little break and find out what to do. But I certainly hope...
- 9/1/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
“The Kingdom Exodus” begins with a joke, and for the next five hours, it never gets serious, not even for a second. That’s not what you might expect for the long-delayed finale to Lars von Trier’s made-for-tv horror series, though it sure makes this over-the-top return to the haunted Rigshospitalet — that big, brutalist medical center in the heart of Copenhagen — a lot more fun.
For all of two minutes, von Trier tricks us into thinking that maybe this third season is going to look like a polished, peak-tv miniseries of the sort you might find on HBO or Netflix. We open on a closeup of a woman’s eye, ideally lit and steadily framed, reflecting a TV screen on which a tuxedoed von Trier appears, a quarter-century younger, over the credits of Season 2’s final episode.
“How can they peddle such half-baked hooey? That’s no ending,” grouses...
For all of two minutes, von Trier tricks us into thinking that maybe this third season is going to look like a polished, peak-tv miniseries of the sort you might find on HBO or Netflix. We open on a closeup of a woman’s eye, ideally lit and steadily framed, reflecting a TV screen on which a tuxedoed von Trier appears, a quarter-century younger, over the credits of Season 2’s final episode.
“How can they peddle such half-baked hooey? That’s no ending,” grouses...
- 9/1/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Spanish streaming service Filmin has acquired Lars von Trier’s “The Kingdom” trilogy, along with the full library of films by the director, from TrustNordisk.
Von Trier is currently completing the third and final instalment of “The Kingdom,” his cult 1990s TV show about the good, evil and paranormal inside the neurosurgical ward of Denmark’s main hospital.
Filmin is also acquiring the restored Seasons 1 and 2 of the show and will launch the complete series in Spain. The trilogy has already been acquired in several territories, including Germany and Austria (Koch Films), Japan (Synca Creations) and South Korea (AtNine).
“We are pleased to experience this high level of interest in the series among buyers, who are evidently intrigued and excited about the series’ epic story, director and cast, which of course comes as no surprise,” said Susan Wendt, TrustNordisk’s managing director.
Von Trier penned the script in collaboration with Niels Vørsel,...
Von Trier is currently completing the third and final instalment of “The Kingdom,” his cult 1990s TV show about the good, evil and paranormal inside the neurosurgical ward of Denmark’s main hospital.
Filmin is also acquiring the restored Seasons 1 and 2 of the show and will launch the complete series in Spain. The trilogy has already been acquired in several territories, including Germany and Austria (Koch Films), Japan (Synca Creations) and South Korea (AtNine).
“We are pleased to experience this high level of interest in the series among buyers, who are evidently intrigued and excited about the series’ epic story, director and cast, which of course comes as no surprise,” said Susan Wendt, TrustNordisk’s managing director.
Von Trier penned the script in collaboration with Niels Vørsel,...
- 6/1/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Lars von Trier has not officially announced a new project since he shocked Cannes again (again) with 2018’s serial-killer saga “The House That Jack Built.” For his next project, as announced by Zentropa Productions on Thursday, von Trier will be returning to the cult hospital series that established his TV presence in the mid-1990s, “The Kingdom.” Set in the neurosurgical ward of a Copenhagan hospital, the series, now dubbed “The Kingdom Exodus,” will return for a third and final season in 2022. Expected to shoot next year, the new revamp of “The Kingdom” will consist of five hour-long episodes. Check out videos teasing the return below.
Producers say the new “Kingdom” will contain a mix of new and old characters from the original, which followed the idiosyncratic staff of the Danish hospital and their encounters with the supernatural and unexplainable. A third season of the show, which ended in 1997, was...
Producers say the new “Kingdom” will contain a mix of new and old characters from the original, which followed the idiosyncratic staff of the Danish hospital and their encounters with the supernatural and unexplainable. A third season of the show, which ended in 1997, was...
- 12/17/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Following his serial killer drama The House That Jack Built, Lars von Trier has now found his next directorial project and it’s one that will see him returning to a period from earlier in his career. The director will be shooting a third and final season of The Kingdom, his TV show that aired two seasons totaling eight episodes between 1994-1997.
Deadline reports this new season, titled The Kingdom Exodus, will run five episodes, shooting next year. Scripted by von Trier and returning collaborator Niels Vørsel, with all five episodes directed by von Trier, the original series was set in the neurosurgical ward of a Copenhagen hospital.
The third season, which will feature “hospitals, horror, and humor,” was originally planned to happen in the 1990s but after actors Ernst-Hugo Järegård and Kirsten Rolffes passed away, von Trier shelved it and is now returning with a mix of original characters and new additions.
Deadline reports this new season, titled The Kingdom Exodus, will run five episodes, shooting next year. Scripted by von Trier and returning collaborator Niels Vørsel, with all five episodes directed by von Trier, the original series was set in the neurosurgical ward of a Copenhagen hospital.
The third season, which will feature “hospitals, horror, and humor,” was originally planned to happen in the 1990s but after actors Ernst-Hugo Järegård and Kirsten Rolffes passed away, von Trier shelved it and is now returning with a mix of original characters and new additions.
- 12/17/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Lars von Trier is set to direct “Kingdom Exodus,” the third and final season of “The Kingdom,” his cult 1990s TV show about the good, evil and paranormal inside the neurosurgical ward of Denmark’s main hospital.
Louise Vesth at Zentropa Entertainments is producing the five-episode season, which will start shooting next year. TrustNordisk handles international sales on the show, which is expected to be delivered in 2022. “The Kingdom Exodus” is a collaboration between Viaplay, Dr and Zentropa, with financial support from Film i Väst and Nordisk Film & TV Fond, among others.
Von Trier penned the script in collaboration with Niels Vørsel, as for the first two runs. A third season was being planned in the late 1990s before being abandoned followed the death of two cast members, Ernst-Hugo Järegård and Kirsten Rolffes.
“The Kingdom” was adapted by Stephen King in the U.S. as a 13-episode drama titled...
Louise Vesth at Zentropa Entertainments is producing the five-episode season, which will start shooting next year. TrustNordisk handles international sales on the show, which is expected to be delivered in 2022. “The Kingdom Exodus” is a collaboration between Viaplay, Dr and Zentropa, with financial support from Film i Väst and Nordisk Film & TV Fond, among others.
Von Trier penned the script in collaboration with Niels Vørsel, as for the first two runs. A third season was being planned in the late 1990s before being abandoned followed the death of two cast members, Ernst-Hugo Järegård and Kirsten Rolffes.
“The Kingdom” was adapted by Stephen King in the U.S. as a 13-episode drama titled...
- 12/17/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Kingdom had been a hit for Danish public broadcaster Dr in 1994 and 1997.
Lars von Trier will shoot the long-hoped-for third and final season of his famed TV show The Kingdom in 2021, with the five new 60-minute episodes titled The Kingdom Exodus.
The Kingdom had been a hit for Danish public broadcaster Dr in 1994 and 1997, telling the story of the battle between good and evil in the neurosurgical ward of Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet.
There were eight episodes across series 1 and 2 (which have now been restored), and the project was also released as a feature film in some territories; von Trier...
Lars von Trier will shoot the long-hoped-for third and final season of his famed TV show The Kingdom in 2021, with the five new 60-minute episodes titled The Kingdom Exodus.
The Kingdom had been a hit for Danish public broadcaster Dr in 1994 and 1997, telling the story of the battle between good and evil in the neurosurgical ward of Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet.
There were eight episodes across series 1 and 2 (which have now been restored), and the project was also released as a feature film in some territories; von Trier...
- 12/17/2020
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom, the TV show set on the neurosurgical ward of a Copenhagen hospital which ran for two seasons in the 1990s, is to return for a third and final five-episode run that will shoot in 2021.
The cult show, which was released as a five-hour movie in some territories, had originally been planned to run for three seasons but never completed due in part to the deaths of key cast members Ernst-Hugo Järegård and Kirsten Rolffes. Producers Zentropa are keeping details under wraps but did say the new edition will be a mix of new and returning characters.
Von Trier has penned the script, again with Niels Vørsel, and will direct all five episodes under the title The Kingdom Exodus. Plot specifics are unknown but it is expected to explore unsolved stories of the hospital as well as reigniting old feuds between the Swedes and the Danes.
The cult show, which was released as a five-hour movie in some territories, had originally been planned to run for three seasons but never completed due in part to the deaths of key cast members Ernst-Hugo Järegård and Kirsten Rolffes. Producers Zentropa are keeping details under wraps but did say the new edition will be a mix of new and returning characters.
Von Trier has penned the script, again with Niels Vørsel, and will direct all five episodes under the title The Kingdom Exodus. Plot specifics are unknown but it is expected to explore unsolved stories of the hospital as well as reigniting old feuds between the Swedes and the Danes.
- 12/17/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The Kingdom I and II
DVD, Second Sight
If the mini-furore over Lars Von Trier's apparently unguarded comments at Cannes this year taught us anything, it's that not everyone gets his humour.
But while his jokes may not bring the house down, his dark wit is considerably more effective in his films or, as here, his television work. This eight-part (the last four parts haven't been available in the UK before) 1994 Danish miniseries is part soap opera, part horror and part black comedy. Set in a Copenhagen hospital, The Kingdom delivers an intriguing set of characters in an environment where all is not as it seems. There's the disillusioned doctor with a sideline as a coke dealer; a spiritualist who feigns illness to gain access to the hospital's ghosts; the Down's syndrome kitchen helpers who seem attuned to the weird goings on; and the lovesick medical student. Best of...
DVD, Second Sight
If the mini-furore over Lars Von Trier's apparently unguarded comments at Cannes this year taught us anything, it's that not everyone gets his humour.
But while his jokes may not bring the house down, his dark wit is considerably more effective in his films or, as here, his television work. This eight-part (the last four parts haven't been available in the UK before) 1994 Danish miniseries is part soap opera, part horror and part black comedy. Set in a Copenhagen hospital, The Kingdom delivers an intriguing set of characters in an environment where all is not as it seems. There's the disillusioned doctor with a sideline as a coke dealer; a spiritualist who feigns illness to gain access to the hospital's ghosts; the Down's syndrome kitchen helpers who seem attuned to the weird goings on; and the lovesick medical student. Best of...
- 7/1/2011
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
by Vadim Rizov
Most Lars von Trier films are about the arrogance of males who think they know everything, yet are supremely fatuous in their advice. In other words, most of Lars von Trier's movies are about himself. Epidemic and The Five Obstructions both foreground one "Lars von Trier" (playing himself) as an arrogant, know-it-all blowhard who, come final scene, gets his comeuppance. Similar roles are occupied in The Kingdom (by Dr. Stig, who almost certainly would've gotten smacked down in part 3 had actor Ernst-Hugo Järegård lived long enough to complete the projected trilogy), David Morse in Dancer in the Dark (who pedantically advises Björk all the way up to her execution) and Tom Edison Jr. (Paul Bettany) in Dogville. Not least in this tradition is Antichrist's He (Willem Dafoe), who is all of those characters recapped: a man offering advice way beyond his pay grade, only to...
Most Lars von Trier films are about the arrogance of males who think they know everything, yet are supremely fatuous in their advice. In other words, most of Lars von Trier's movies are about himself. Epidemic and The Five Obstructions both foreground one "Lars von Trier" (playing himself) as an arrogant, know-it-all blowhard who, come final scene, gets his comeuppance. Similar roles are occupied in The Kingdom (by Dr. Stig, who almost certainly would've gotten smacked down in part 3 had actor Ernst-Hugo Järegård lived long enough to complete the projected trilogy), David Morse in Dancer in the Dark (who pedantically advises Björk all the way up to her execution) and Tom Edison Jr. (Paul Bettany) in Dogville. Not least in this tradition is Antichrist's He (Willem Dafoe), who is all of those characters recapped: a man offering advice way beyond his pay grade, only to...
- 11/9/2010
- GreenCine Daily
Chicago – Lars von Trier opens his brilliant “Europa” by literally trying to hypnotize his audience. A barely lit train track moves slowly across the screen as Max von Sydow calmly incants a hypnotizing speech and countdown. “On the count of ten, you will be in Europa.” Is he speaking to the audience or to the man who just appeared on the screen when he says, “You are in Germany. The year is 1945.”?
“Europa” is von Trier’s attempt to deconstruct the war movie, the thriller, the standard Hitchcock rip-off, and even his own nightmares in one fever dream of a film. “Europa” (released under the name “Zentropa” in the States, so as not to avoid confusion with “Europa Europa”) announced the arrival of a massive international talent, one that would go on to make great films like “Breaking the Waves”, “Dancer in the Dark”, and “Dogville”.
Von Trier may have...
“Europa” is von Trier’s attempt to deconstruct the war movie, the thriller, the standard Hitchcock rip-off, and even his own nightmares in one fever dream of a film. “Europa” (released under the name “Zentropa” in the States, so as not to avoid confusion with “Europa Europa”) announced the arrival of a massive international talent, one that would go on to make great films like “Breaking the Waves”, “Dancer in the Dark”, and “Dogville”.
Von Trier may have...
- 12/10/2008
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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