Borgarkeri
A bit overrated, but still an amazing film
AutCuddly
Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
Walter Sloane
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
valis1949
Somewhere along the line this strange and moody exercise in acting slipped from bathos into pathos. Individual performances saved the rather strained plot line from becoming a complete washout, and, although the mid-section tended to drag, THE KING IS ALIVE evolves into a moving and poignant film. At face value, a disparate group of tourist stranded in the Namibian desert who decide to stage Shakespeare's King Lear to take their mind off of their dilemma sounds more like farce than drama. This film demonstrates how Dogme 95 avant-garde film making can elevate an absurd or ridiculous premise to something which might be considered a work of art.
amyp3
No, it's not the worst movie I've ever seen. That honor still goes to a dreadful piece about Van Gogh materializing in present-day L.A. (Nothing I see will ever be as bad as that film.) But this is right up there in the Stinkeroo Hall of Fame.POSSIBLE SPOILEROK, we're not supposed to take the story literally? So it doesn't matter that they stand out in the desert sun learning lines, instead of taking all the necessary precautions to fight for survival? Fine. Except that the film doesn't work as some artistic metaphor on the human condition either.
There is no consistent, logical relationship among the film characters themselves, or between each person and the part they're assigned to play. There's no there there.We may despise mindless action films, or predictably plotted suspense/fantasy films. But there is truly nothing worse than the person who hides an inability to create coherent themes and logical stories behind the aura of experimental art.
bellebel
This is possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. Can somebody please explain the plot of this movie to me? Yes, I know the bus ran out of gas in the middle of the desert, after the driver never noticed that his compass wasn't functioning, but what then? And how did it end? Maybe I'm to stupid to understand this movie, but to me it was an absolute waste of time.My recommendation? Do not bother, there are far better movies to be seen. This movie ranks with my other all time low-low's (Going overboard - Adam Sandler and Fire on the Amazon - Sandra Bullock)
Sally_Kirkland
This is one of those films with a great potential. Brilliant actors, a debut from a very interesting director and a haunting "Survivor"-ish plot.But it does not work at all.To start with the good thing: The cinematography is stunning. The beauty of the Namibian desert shows itself as a merciless surrounding, also in the pictures. And then there is the acting. Quite allright. Jennifer Jason Leigh has never been better. Bruce Davison also seems to have developed his character from Altman's "Short Cuts".Then the disappointments: Janet McTeer. Romane Bohringer. And the plot. Why on earth does Levring pick "Lear" for their play? The whole idea of letting Shakespeare articulate their despair and inner longings does not work. It seems like a facade. And it is clear that the tragedies takes place because of the choice of "Lear". They just needs to fit in in the Script by Levring and Academy Award winner Anders Thomas Jensen.And the sex. It takes about three days, then more or less all of the characters are sexually frustrated. Dahh!! Sex is always the easy way out when you are in need of a crisis in a plot. Janet McTeer's part totally falls apart, mainly because of that ridiculous idea. The sex makes the plot fall promptly to the ground. Instead they could have focused on the dialogue. There must have been conversation between all of the characters, but we mainly see them talking in smaller groups. Their talking though is as dead as "Lear" and the rest of the film."The King Is Alive" still is not the worst Danish dogme '95 movie yet. But comparing it to the most recent of the homegrown dogme '95 films "Italiensk for begyndere" by Lone Scherfig, this one fails badly. It is not a good film. It is a bad one. But it is beautiful.
