Jan. 2nd, 2011 12:31 am
Riget (The Kingdom)
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aphrodite_mineFirst watch of the new year! You guys, I am obsessed. But! I need someone to share my obsession with. So let me tell you about Riget.
General info:
- directed by Lars von Trier (okay, this may not be a plus for most sane people, but seriously, the man is a genius no matter what problems you may have with him)
- the plot is gothic-based: Hospital built on mysterious site, and after years of clinging to strict medicinal cures, the spiritual world is breaking through
- it reminds me a lot of Twin Peaks: between the mystery at large (who is the creepy ghost person? what is causing the mysterious things to happen at Kingdom Hospital?) the dramatic soap-y storylines (move in with me! I love you! I'm pregnant (with some other guy's baby)!) and the random bits of complete absurdity, I haven't seen a show pull off this balance since David Lynch was at the helm
- the characters are amazing (more below)
- there is lots to analyze and discuss (more below)
Not convinced yet? Read more some more details. There are also a few points that may give you pause, so for squikky viewers, I suggest spoiling yourself a little below.
- von Trier is known as being misogynist/anti-feminist (I disagree, but that's beside the point) and some readings of his films, etc, could support this. However, Riget uses the trope of men-who-think-they-know-everything being usurped by chaos, chaos that women can communicate with and identify. This could be read as women being lesser/weaker for being able to sense this sort of thing, but it could also be read as the women being the power force here -- such as in Wide Sargasso Sea. The environment calls for the jouissance that these women can bring to the story, and not the rigid black and white [fail] way the men (especially the main character) bring.
- There is at least one awesome male character who (as of episode two -- there are only 8 episodes) hasn't done anything faily. :D
- von Trier has a... weird thing about [direct translation] "mongols" (a very offensive word for people Down's Syndrome) and has, several times, used them in his films. Riget is no exception. There is the gothic element of the differently-abled people (Down's, for one, and later an elderly insane woman) having insight into the spiritual world. Yes. This is incredibly offensive. Is it more offensive than the "wise black man" motif in Southern Gothic pieces? Is von Trier including this element for value other than to shock... I don't know. I do think that the rest of the story makes up for the fail here.
- Another downside, I'm not sure how often this happens (as I've only watched the first two episodes so far) but the action takes place in a hospital, and there is brain surgery at one point. They use real footage of real surgery. Not the worst I've seen, but... Creepy.
- BUT. GOTHIC. GHOST CHILDREN. SEEPING THROUGH. TO THIS WORLD.
Convinced yet? It is only 8 episodes -- that's 8 hours of your time.
General info:
- directed by Lars von Trier (okay, this may not be a plus for most sane people, but seriously, the man is a genius no matter what problems you may have with him)
- the plot is gothic-based: Hospital built on mysterious site, and after years of clinging to strict medicinal cures, the spiritual world is breaking through
- it reminds me a lot of Twin Peaks: between the mystery at large (who is the creepy ghost person? what is causing the mysterious things to happen at Kingdom Hospital?) the dramatic soap-y storylines (move in with me! I love you! I'm pregnant (with some other guy's baby)!) and the random bits of complete absurdity, I haven't seen a show pull off this balance since David Lynch was at the helm
- the characters are amazing (more below)
- there is lots to analyze and discuss (more below)
Not convinced yet? Read more some more details. There are also a few points that may give you pause, so for squikky viewers, I suggest spoiling yourself a little below.
- von Trier is known as being misogynist/anti-feminist (I disagree, but that's beside the point) and some readings of his films, etc, could support this. However, Riget uses the trope of men-who-think-they-know-everything being usurped by chaos, chaos that women can communicate with and identify. This could be read as women being lesser/weaker for being able to sense this sort of thing, but it could also be read as the women being the power force here -- such as in Wide Sargasso Sea. The environment calls for the jouissance that these women can bring to the story, and not the rigid black and white [fail] way the men (especially the main character) bring.
- There is at least one awesome male character who (as of episode two -- there are only 8 episodes) hasn't done anything faily. :D
- von Trier has a... weird thing about [direct translation] "mongols" (a very offensive word for people Down's Syndrome) and has, several times, used them in his films. Riget is no exception. There is the gothic element of the differently-abled people (Down's, for one, and later an elderly insane woman) having insight into the spiritual world. Yes. This is incredibly offensive. Is it more offensive than the "wise black man" motif in Southern Gothic pieces? Is von Trier including this element for value other than to shock... I don't know. I do think that the rest of the story makes up for the fail here.
- Another downside, I'm not sure how often this happens (as I've only watched the first two episodes so far) but the action takes place in a hospital, and there is brain surgery at one point. They use real footage of real surgery. Not the worst I've seen, but... Creepy.
- BUT. GOTHIC. GHOST CHILDREN. SEEPING THROUGH. TO THIS WORLD.
Convinced yet? It is only 8 episodes -- that's 8 hours of your time.
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(The reviews did suggest that the remake was a pale shadow, but I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun :))