Antonio Escobosa
You know you are not alone at not loving something when at the end of the first episode of it, Lars shows up telling to the audience that "next episode will be better". This one is such a boring and ridiculous story that made me want to go and return the DVD and forget about giving me my money back....just get this stupid and boring story out of my life! I really don't understand the people that rate it so high. The characters are unlikeable, empty and full of absurd reactions, not to mention the production mistakes that fill the series. May God have mercy on all the people that bought this hoping to get something worth their money for! And I really envy the ones that found something worthy on this one!
T Y
The only thing this series demonstrates is: - Lars von Trier wanted to dabble in something like Twin Peaks - Lars von Trier is capable of making lousy TV too.The television format has a way of liberating everyone's inner hack. The 'running series' presents difficulties that are always solved conventionally. Namely, execs & advertisers live in horror that a narrative payoff will come too quickly, which produces two horrible cop-outs: a teaser before every commercial (which threatens that something is about to happen), followed by the complete dissipation of that potential after the commercials are over; and the chronically-delayed promise that something of interest will occur over every ten or twenty episodes. That payout is simply too low.Although cable isn't hampered by commercials, there is still a deep fear of giving anything away and losing viewers. This fosters and grows viewers that clear time from their lives to receive each new worthless update. I have found each new "series of excellence" (or so I'm told by critics and friends - Soparanos, Lost, Deadwood, Six Feet Under) to be just as crappy as regular mediocre TV; ruined by the format itself. I watch these shows and all I see is the meandering which occurs as storyteller strings you along with delays and non-committals, etc.. Then, in disappointment, I picture the conventional minds that would tune in again and again.Do I have stronger eyes than most people? How on earth could von Trier make this crap after Zentropa? If I see one more "Ghost Needs Closure" movie, I'm going to help the creators become ghosts themselves.
mosheq
The only thing verging on "extraordinary" in the first season of this TV drama is the degree to which it stretches our patience with the cliché of a mentally retarded character gifted with an inexplicable omniscience about every goings on in the hospital, supernatural or otherwise. His sometimes aphoristic narrative guidance is as gratuitous as it is unavoidable in this show. This was only the most trying of the devices that crop up. Fortunately, there are some well-crafted bits of dialogue and character development. Ernst-Hugo Jaregard in particular shines in the role of Helmer, a pompous, curmudgeonly surgeon from Sweden with an almost superhuman disdain for the Danes in his midst.However, the series is too heavily marred by a simplistic notion of character (or caricature), plot developments that are often too overblown to be taken at all seriously, and finally a miserly attitude in storytelling evident through a too-incremental disclosure of details that form the mystery of the central ghost story. The show is most surprising in how little, ultimately, it delivers. There's just a lot of hot air blowing around, and one can't help but suspect this is to conceal the skimpiness that truly rests in the heart of The Kingdom. I did laugh at several well-keyed moments, but I was never in suspense, and all too often I simply sat yawning.
Marcin Skoczylas
First of all, Riget is wonderful. Good comedy and mystery thriller at the same time. Nice combination of strange 'dogma' style of telling the story together with good music and great actors. But unfortunately there's no 'the end'. As for me it's unacceptable. I was thinking... how it will be possible to continue the story without Helmer and Drusse? ...and I have some idea. I think Lars should make RIGET III a little bit different. I'm sure that 3rd part without Helmer wouldn't be the same. So here's my suggestion. Mayble little bit stupid, maybe not. I know that Lars likes to experiment. So why not to make small experiment with Riget3? I think the only solution here is to create puppet-driven animation (like for example "team America" by Trey Parker) or even computer 3d animation. I know it's not the same as real actors, but in principle I believe it could work... only this way it's possible to make actors alive again. For Riget fans this shouldn't be so big difference - if the animation will be done in good way average 'watcher' will consider it normal just after first few shots of the movie. The most important thing now is the story. It's completely understandable that it's not possible to create Riget 3 with the actors nowadays. So why not to play with animation? And... look for the possibilities that it gives to you! Even marketing one! Great director finishes his trilogy after 10 years using puppet animation. Just dreams?I hope to see Riget 3 someday... or even to see just the script. I'm curious how the story ends... and as I expect- everybody here do.greets, slajps: I'm not talking about the "kingdom hospital" by Stephen King ;-)
AD
