“Masturbation,” says Lars von Trier International screen when asked how he spent his free time. “Too much! Masturbation beats film and literature. It is a tip for your readers.”
This is a typically defiant comment from the Danish director, the sequel to the horror comedy TV series Kingdom: Exodus has shown this week in Venice out of competition.
of The 295-minute project is set in an ultra-modern hospital in Denmark, where unexplained events convince doctors that the place is haunted. After its premiere in Venice, it will go to the Toronto and New York film festivals.
Mubi has distribution rights for North America, UK, Ireland, Latin America, Turkey and India.
Von Trier finished work on the series just a few days ago. Earlier this year, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Speaking via Zoom from Denmark, he is visibly fragile and halting in his delivery, but he remains a provocateur.
Generally, when von Trier attends festivals, physically or virtually, controversy follows. The bad boy of European cinema will say something off-color in a press conference or a violent or explicit scene in his latest film will upset viewers or an actor will attack him in the media.
In Venice this week, however, goodwill towards him has been close to universal. KINGDOM has generated strong reviews. For once, no one is trying to stop him or his work.
“No, I can’t say that I have [noticed],” the director says of the new glow of approval in which he is currently basking. “I’m sitting at home, but it’s always good to hear.”
In the new one KINGDOM, as in the original series, von Trier and his co-writer Niels Vørsel use every opportunity they can to poke fun at Volvo-driving, Tetra Pak processing, their near-neighbors, the Swedes. Swedish doctor Helmer Junior (Mikael Persbrandt) is a slightly arrogant and absurd figure like his father in the original series.
What does von Trier feel about Sweden today?
“I’m quite calm about Sweden,” he insists. “My family has always had a lot of contact with Swedes. Me too and I really appreciate the Swedish actors I work with. I agree I’m bullying Sweden [in The Kingdom] but if you compare it with Danish characters, then they [the Danish] are as spoiled as the Swedes.”
In the new series, Dr Helmer gets into trouble after making unwanted sexual advances with a female colleague at the hospital. He is threatened with a lawsuit, must consult an expensive lawyer (played by Alexander Skarsgard) and faces professional disgrace if he does not pay compensation to the woman whose fake nipples he so admired.
“I myself am very afraid of anything that takes away freedom of speech,” the director says wryly of the cancellation culture that seems to be beguiling. “I can’t protect myself. My mood is also sometimes hard to understand. What can I say? I have not heard the reaction from any Swedes. [But] perhaps there will be a war between Denmark and Sweden. It might be interesting to see who goes to the Russian side.”
Kingdom: Exodus it was done through Zentropa, the production company founded by von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen way back in 1992 and which has largely survived and thrived (despite some hard times) ever since.
Asked how he would like Zentropa to evolve now, he deflects the question.
“Zentropa has always been Peter’s child. What I appreciated about Zentropa was that it allowed us to do in my films almost what we wanted.
“I don’t have a great admiration for the production, but it seems that after Pjetri and I started showing very rarely at Zentropa, the production has increased and the quality and everything has increased. [But] I hope there will still be an upside for the company.”
Future plans
It’s just finished KINGDOMvon Trier is determined to continue working.
“I know that if I find the right idea, it would still be fun to write. I’ve always thought that shooting a film is really hard work, but if it’s something you’ve written, you’re very specific about what you want, so it can be a lot of fun to direct. I also like working with actors. I think that’s what I’m going to aim for now. But, yes, I will take a few days off first.”
Von Trier was a pioneer with KINGDOM, directing a high-profile, wildly ambitious European TV drama series before the advent of broadcasters, made such projects commonplace. However, he insists he prefers his work to be seen on the big screen.
“I don’t know how it is in other countries, but in Denmark [cinema] the screens are disappearing more and more,” sighs the director. “People have stopped going to the cinema. For me, a real movie was a long movie, three or four hours. It was always with high expectations that you went there [to cinemas] and no movies…
“I can understand why directors want to make things longer [for TV] because they will have more time to develop their characters, but I, for the most part, have made long films as you know.
Von Trier’s international successes with films like Breaking waves, Dunces AND Dogville transformed the Danish film industry, opening up opportunities for other directors to flourish. However, ask him how he sees the new Danish cinema today and he talks about his family.
“All four of my children want to make films. I told everyone, oh, please don’t. When I started, there were five principals who could live with it [the film business]. You always had the expectation that when the equipment got cheap enough and good enough, something fantastic would happen on film. But I have not seen or heard of it. They have to do their own thing, the new generation.”
