The Kingdom (Riget) is a Lars Von Trier miniseries released in three parts. One batch of episodes came out in 1994, another in 1997, and then the third batch didn't come out until 2022. A 25-year-long wait for a third collection of episodes, with the show in question being a strange and engrossing blend of genres that darts between surreal horror, dark comedy, fantastical elements, and being both a homage/parody of soap opera tropes? That all might sound familiar to people who are fans of a certain director whose name rhymes with Flavored Pinch.
So part 1 runs for about four hours in total, and I watched them all pretty close together. The experience was an overwhelming one, and I think I understood very little, overall, at least beyond a surface level. But it was intriguing, I really liked the atmosphere, and I was always interested to see where it would go. I'm curious about the second and third installments, too, and will try and watch them soon. There's not much else like it, even though there are some broad similarities to Twin Peaks (at least it made me feel a similar way in parts), and I also couldn't help but think of Garth Mahrengi's Darkplace - another miniseries set in a truly strange haunted hospital (that one has a very different tone though).
It's probably one of Lars Von Trier's best works, with the length meaning some aspects feel very accessible, and other parts that feel completely bewildering. You don't know what you're going to get from scene to scene, and while that sometimes might be a problem with certain TV shows or films, I didn't really think it was a problem here.
So part 1 runs for about four hours in total, and I watched them all pretty close together. The experience was an overwhelming one, and I think I understood very little, overall, at least beyond a surface level. But it was intriguing, I really liked the atmosphere, and I was always interested to see where it would go. I'm curious about the second and third installments, too, and will try and watch them soon. There's not much else like it, even though there are some broad similarities to Twin Peaks (at least it made me feel a similar way in parts), and I also couldn't help but think of Garth Mahrengi's Darkplace - another miniseries set in a truly strange haunted hospital (that one has a very different tone though).
It's probably one of Lars Von Trier's best works, with the length meaning some aspects feel very accessible, and other parts that feel completely bewildering. You don't know what you're going to get from scene to scene, and while that sometimes might be a problem with certain TV shows or films, I didn't really think it was a problem here.
