Comprising 1994’s The Kingdom, 1997’s The Kingdom II, and 2022’s much belated The Kingdom: Exodus, Lars von Trier’s television miniseries trilogy plays like the unholy love child of St. Elsewhere and Twin Peaks, the latter an acknowledged influence on the director. The trilogy works brilliantly as a blackly comic piss take on running a hospital, with all its attendant frustrations and absurdities, as well as a blast of surreal weirdness that seeks to expose the dark underbelly of its titular locale.
But the parallels between The Kingdom series and its forebears are even more specific. The final episode of Exodus dramatically hinges on a snow globe containing a miniature of the hospital, just as St. Elsewhere famously ended on a similar image. As with Twin Peaks: The Return, over two decades passed between the second and third season of The Kingdom, allowing for some intriguing narrative resets and retakes.
But the parallels between The Kingdom series and its forebears are even more specific. The final episode of Exodus dramatically hinges on a snow globe containing a miniature of the hospital, just as St. Elsewhere famously ended on a similar image. As with Twin Peaks: The Return, over two decades passed between the second and third season of The Kingdom, allowing for some intriguing narrative resets and retakes.
- 5/7/2024
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
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
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 selected 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, reports Variety.
“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.
The filmmaker did a press conference and selected 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, reports Variety.
“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.
- 9/2/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
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
It's been 2 1/2 years since October Films released the first four parts of Danish auteur Lars von Trier's TV production "The Kingdom". Running nearly five hours, the overwrought creep show about a haunted hospital was barely endurable as a theatrical attraction, and it left the stolosangeles2ry hanging.
A sort of "Twin Peaks" meets "ER" -- but not nearly as well-written as either show -- "The Kingdom II" (Parts 5-8) is another 4 1/2 hours of von Trier's thoroughly commercial material that refuses to resolve anything in an increasingly annoying fashion.
Basically, the spirit-infested Copenhagen hospital where the story takes place has few rational or completely sane people among the doctors, "consultants," workers and patients. Built on the site of a swamp, the hospital is threatened by an evil force, one of several cryptic dangers facing the large cast.
Although no character is central, Swedish doctor Stig Helmer (Ernst-Hugo Jaregard) becomes a monstrous presence, with his conscious and unconscious evildoing. One of his victims is nearly invincible old Mrs. Drusse (Kirsten Rolffes), a clairvoyant who almost dies and actually communicates with ghosts.
Everyone is a little crazy, and unbelievable events are straightforwardly presented, including the abnormally rapid growth of a baby. One character is poisoned and pronounced dead, and the body is nearly incinerated, but he comes back.
Grotesque and endless, "The Kingdom II" is meant to be taken in smaller doses, with a little time passing between watching the roughly one-hour segments. Of course, just when disaster looms, the story stops and devilish von Trier himself informs us we'll have to wait to see what happens next.
THE KINGDOM II
October Films
Zentropa Entertainment
and DR TV, Danish Broadcasting Corp.
Directors: Lars von Trier, Morten Arnfred
Screenwriters: Lars von Trier, Niels Vorsel
Producers: Vibeke Windelov,
Svend Abrahamsen
Director of photography: Eric Kress
Art directors: Jette Lehmann,
Hans Christian Lindholm
Editors: Molly Malene Stensgaard,
Pernille Bech Christensen
Music: Joachim Holbek
Color/stereo
Cast:
Stig Helmer: Ernst-Hugo Jaregard
Mrs. Drusse: Kirsten Rolffes
Dr. Moesgaard: Holger Juul Hansen
Krogen: Soren Pilmark
Rigmor: Ghita Norby
Bulder: Jens Okking
Dishwasher 1: Vita Jensen
Dishwasher 2: Morten Rotne Leffers
Running time -- 270 minutes
No MPAA rating...
A sort of "Twin Peaks" meets "ER" -- but not nearly as well-written as either show -- "The Kingdom II" (Parts 5-8) is another 4 1/2 hours of von Trier's thoroughly commercial material that refuses to resolve anything in an increasingly annoying fashion.
Basically, the spirit-infested Copenhagen hospital where the story takes place has few rational or completely sane people among the doctors, "consultants," workers and patients. Built on the site of a swamp, the hospital is threatened by an evil force, one of several cryptic dangers facing the large cast.
Although no character is central, Swedish doctor Stig Helmer (Ernst-Hugo Jaregard) becomes a monstrous presence, with his conscious and unconscious evildoing. One of his victims is nearly invincible old Mrs. Drusse (Kirsten Rolffes), a clairvoyant who almost dies and actually communicates with ghosts.
Everyone is a little crazy, and unbelievable events are straightforwardly presented, including the abnormally rapid growth of a baby. One character is poisoned and pronounced dead, and the body is nearly incinerated, but he comes back.
Grotesque and endless, "The Kingdom II" is meant to be taken in smaller doses, with a little time passing between watching the roughly one-hour segments. Of course, just when disaster looms, the story stops and devilish von Trier himself informs us we'll have to wait to see what happens next.
THE KINGDOM II
October Films
Zentropa Entertainment
and DR TV, Danish Broadcasting Corp.
Directors: Lars von Trier, Morten Arnfred
Screenwriters: Lars von Trier, Niels Vorsel
Producers: Vibeke Windelov,
Svend Abrahamsen
Director of photography: Eric Kress
Art directors: Jette Lehmann,
Hans Christian Lindholm
Editors: Molly Malene Stensgaard,
Pernille Bech Christensen
Music: Joachim Holbek
Color/stereo
Cast:
Stig Helmer: Ernst-Hugo Jaregard
Mrs. Drusse: Kirsten Rolffes
Dr. Moesgaard: Holger Juul Hansen
Krogen: Soren Pilmark
Rigmor: Ghita Norby
Bulder: Jens Okking
Dishwasher 1: Vita Jensen
Dishwasher 2: Morten Rotne Leffers
Running time -- 270 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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