Last birth date of the twisted mind of Lars von Trier,The Kingdom Exodusturns out to be the third season of the iconic series of the 1990s:Hospital and its ghosts. And four years laterThe House that Jack builtThe Danish director did not lose his superb.
« The Idiots » village
The lights fall down and then turn off. The voices are silent. Lars von Trier appears on screen. Amaigri. He's sick. Time to record a short welcome message and wish a good viewing to the public ofGIFF (Geneva International Film Festival), gathered in the room for this special opening ceremony: it is not a film that will be screened, but the first two episodes of a series, and not just any one!The Kingdom Exodus. The continuation of the mythicalHospital and its ghosts, the second and last season of which was broadcast in 1997.
This final part also starts like this: we discover the last minutes of this season 2 at the same time as a spectator who, finally leaving the DVD of the player, will eventually throw the box in the trash by qualifying von Trier d « Idiot ». A beautiful abyss that announces immediately the color of thisKingdom ExodusIf twenty-five years have passed, the humour and acidity of the Danish director do not seem to have suffered.
A quarter of a century
Twenty-five years: the time it took to bring thisfinal seasonat its end. And this is no coincidence: although the third season has been scheduled following the previous season, the death of two of the main actors – Ernst-Hugo Järegård and Kirsten Rolffes – condemns the project. Twenty-five years is about how long it took another great contemporary filmmaker –David Lynch– to release the third fraction of its flagship series,Twin Peaks. A comparison that is not vain, since the third season of the two works has troubling points in common: two filmmakers who break the serial codes, a shared metatextuality and a rereading of their works in total expansion of their universes.
The two seasons also converge thematically towards a sharp critique of liberal society. On the one hand Lynch and his CIA, on the other von Trier and the health system. However, if the hospital remains the centralThe Kingdom Exodus, the Danish director has fun in egregating the contemporary: the biases of inclusiveness, the chauvinism between Swedish and Danish, sexism latent in certain circles...
But more than anything, Lars von Trier takes a clever pleasure in extending his universe, while keeping this clever mix of terror and comedy that made the essence of the first seasons. The « shaky cam » von Trier explores the narrow corridors of the hospital, from its glauque basements to the vertiginous top of the buildings, with the same granular image with almost sepia hues that were already the work of the 1990s.
Besides, maybe that's the big difference with Lynch. Where the latter completely exploded the shape and history of its first two shutters, Lars von Trier remains very faithful, embraces this notevintageAnd darling. For example, the thirty minutes of explanation concerning the history of the hospital and Kingdom building site, as well as Joachim Holbek's comic book and interesting music, do not move a hair.
New heads
Casting level, if we find the heads of some basic actors, new arrivals make their appearance, including the notable entry into force of SwedishMikael Persbrandt. Present in particular inSex Educationbut also inKing Arthurby Guy Ritchie, he perfectly embodies the hilarious new doctor, slightly pedantic, who must make his place within the hospital and his staff for the least eccentric. There is also aWillem Dafoe(now inAntichristalongside Charlotte Gainsbourg) terrifying in « Grand Duke », which we shall not say any more...Finally, as in the first seasons, we find Lars von Trier's recurring final message with his text on top of the credits.
Except this time, not without humour, he is not standing in front but well behind the curtain, unable – I quote – to compete with the image of young Lars. Reunions with the Danish director, which are a pleasure, so rare because of his illness. Its last realization –The House that Jack built– already dates back to 2018. A comeback that will surely make the new generation want to discover all of this series, as well as the return ofTwin Peaksintroduced the creation of Lynch and Frost to a new audience. She will probably also make curious about American adaptation (a season of 15 episodes), under the titleKingdom HospitalBy none other than Stephen King! It is the MUBI platform that will have the exclusive of this last chapter of the Hospital and its ghosts, available from 27 November... At least in some countries. If the United States, Canada or India will have the opportunity to discover the new season, MUBI France has unfortunately yet announced no date.
It is the MUBI platform that will have the exclusive of this last chapter ofHospital and its ghosts, available from 27 November... At least in some countries. If the United States, Canada or India will have the opportunity to discover the new season, MUBI France has unfortunately yet announced no date.
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