The Kingdom Movie Review 1995

Danish director von Trier serves up what must be the first four-and-a- half-hour long hospital soap opera/ghost story/comedy/satire. Elderly Mrs. Drusse checks herself into a hospital known as the Kingdom, which is inhabited by the usual medical suspects: Pompous surgeons, incompetent buraucrats, and quirky residents. She hears the ghostly call of a child from an elevator shaft and sticks around to investigate. Made for Danish TV but released theatrically there and in the States, film owes a great deal to "Twin Peaks" and B-movie horror flicks. Doesn't take itself too seriously, but probably can't be watched all in one sitting. Danish and Swedish with subtitles.

Distribution

Hallmark Home Entertainment, 6100 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 1400, Los Angeles, CA 90048, Phone: (213)634-3000, Fax: (213)549-3760, Remarks: Lainie Handelman, Mktg.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 279 minutes.
Originally from Danish.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Horror Comedy, Hospitals & Medicine, Renegade Body Parts, Ghosts, Ghouls, & Goblins, Occult

Screenplay

Lars von Trier, Tomas Gislason, Niels Vorsel

Cast

Kirsten Rolffes, Ghita Norby, Udo Kier, Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, Soren Pilmark, Holger Juul Hansen, Baard Owe, Birgitte Raabjerg, Peter Mygind, Solbjorg Hojfeldt

Cinematography

Eric Kress

Director

Lars von Trier

Music

Joachim Holbek

Producer

Ole Relm, Svend Abrahamsen, Peter Aalbaek Jensen, Zentropa Entertainment