TV Review – Kingdom: Exodus

Kingdom: Exodus (Mubi)
Written by Lars von Trier and Niels Vørsel
Directed by Lars von Trier

I just can’t hate Lars von Trier. I think he’s a massive asshole, and he often has a horrible sense of humor. However, I find his work enjoyable…mostly. He’s frequently on the cusp of a breakthrough but then misses the point. While David Lynch’s Twin Peaks inspired the Kingdom series, I do not think this comes close to that masterpiece. Part of this is Lynch’s willingness to grow and change as an artist. Von Trier, instead, has entered his grumpy old man phase, and Exodus puts much of that on display. It’s eye-rolling & annoying. He has such a cynical viewpoint in the way he ends this story. Lynch wrapped up Twin Peaks: The Return with a dark ending, but it’s clear he doesn’t see things as hopeless.

Karen (Bodil Jørgensen) has a chronic sleepwalking problem and she has also just rewatched the original two Kingdom mini-series. One night, shortly before Christmas, she sleepwalks into Rigshospitalet. Apparently, the show was based on “real” events? Von Trier is pulling some meta-humor. Karen wants to know what happened after the fatal power outage at the end of the show. The same day she arrives, Stig Helmer, Jr. (Mikael Persbrandt) arrives to reclaim the honor of his family’s Swedish name. He wants to implement more sophisticated policies in the neurology department, now run by the neurotic Dr. Pontopidian (Lars Mikkelsen). Of course, some of the old faces reappear, including Udo Kier as a not-so-little Brother anymore.

I laughed a lot while watching these five episodes, even more than I did watching the original series. But I also rolled my eyes a hell of a lot more. I enjoy how much von Trier seems to like poking fun at Swedes. I am not familiar with the views of Danes towards Swedes, but von Trier’s take is not very favorable. He sees them as pompous & pretentious assholes. However, in Exodus, the filmmaker goes way over the top with the whole thing to the point of unfunny absurdity. 

He uses Helmer, Jr. as a strawman to construct silly arguments about “wokeness.” Helmer, Jr. wants to institute a gender-neutral policy for doctors, nurses, staff, and patients. This is, of course, something no one actually wants. Leftists want people to respect how others identify. But von Trier makes the typical reactionary argument about being policed about what to call people. He does the same with a sexual harassment subplot between Helmer and Anna, A Swedish nurse at the hospital. It’s a misunderstanding that von Trier turns into a mini-diatribe about women making accusations so they can go after money but then really being into the guy. It’s baby-brained dumb shit. And it doesn’t make anything in this revival better.

Where the show was far more enjoyable, but ultimately, a letdown was the Karen plotline. This is the core of Exodus as she becomes a vessel for the spirit of the late Mrs. Drusse. It just so happens that a new orderly works at the hospital. He has been nicknamed Bulder by the older staff members as he reminds them of someone. Karen wants to know what ever happened to the human-demon hybrid Little Brother and gets the help of his mother, Judith (Birgitte Raaberg), and Hook (Søren Pilmark), who still linger in the basement. Eventually, Karen will find herself in a limbo space where the bleachers who used to work the land where the hospital now sits are still working. 

The former med student, now Doctor Mogge (Peter Mygind), hangs out around the fringes. I particularly enjoyed Rigmor (Ghita Nørby) hanging around the hospital now as a patient who is getting her legs amputated for some reason. She becomes quite the thorn in Pontipidian’s side, which was one of my favorite comedy bits from this go-round. We get archival footage of deceased cast members and Alexander Sarsgaard appears as a lawyer who works out of a bathroom stall, the son of Helmer, Sr.’s lawyer for his malpractice suit in the original show. His dad, Stellan, played that role, which is a fun little nod. 

The problem is that von Trier has all these elements set up in the first couple of episodes and then doesn’t do anything interesting with them. Is there any development of the metatextual stuff beyond the first episode? Not really. There’s a group of Japanese tourists who were fans of The Kingdom being taken on a tour. That’s about it. The Little Brother storyline gets a conclusive ending…I think. It felt like the larger supernatural story being told got wrapped up, but what I was supposed to glean from it was completely lost on me. I don’t mind work that needs interpretation. Lynch is one of my favorites. But von Trier comes across as angrily flailing at a certain point. He’s making snarky comments about things, mumbling them under his breath.

There is some stunningly beautiful imagery in these episodes, though. Anything surrounding Little Brother is done so well. It’s not enough for me, though. There’s no arguing that this isn’t a von Trier production, though. It has all the hallmarks of his work. If you’ve watched the first two mini-series, this feels like a given. It makes for an interesting piece of art that claims inspiration from Twin Peaks but went in a wildly different direction.