The King is Alive

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id182.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="East is East"><U>East is East</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id350.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EastWest"><U>East-West</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id758.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Enemy At the Gates"><U>Enemy At the Gates</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id84.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Erin Brockovich"><U>Erin Brockovich</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id811.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eureka"><U>Eureka</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1083.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Everybodys Famous"><U>Everybody's Famous</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1356.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Everything Put Together"><U>Everything Put Together</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1031.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Evolution"><U>Evolution</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id985.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Exit Wounds"><U>Exit Wounds</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id599.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Exorcist"><U>The Exorcist</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1108.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eyes of the Spider"><U>Eyes of the Spider</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id148.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eye Of The Beholder"><U>Eye Of The Beholder</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id490.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Eyes of Tammy Faye"><U>The Eyes of Tammy Faye</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id888.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Faithless"><U>Faithless</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1166.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Farewell, Home Sweet Home"><U>Farewell, Home Sweet Home</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1066.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Fast and the Furious"><U>The Fast and the Furious</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id244.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fast Food Fast Women"><U>Fast Food Fast Women</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1298.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fat Girl"><U>Fat Girl</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Final Destination"><U>Final Destination</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1046.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within"><U>Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1272.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Focus"><U>Focus</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id993.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forsaken"><U>Forsaken</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1167.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From Hell"><U>From Hell</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1322.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From Here To Eternity"><U>From Here To Eternity</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id650.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="George Washington"><U>George Washington</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id899.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Get Over It"><U>Get Over It</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1660.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gozilla"><U>Gozilla</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1127.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Greenfingers"><U>Greenfingers</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1181.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Haiku Tunnel"><U>Haiku Tunnel</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1195.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hamlet"><U>Hamlet</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id931.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hannibal"><U>Hannibal</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1154.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hardball"><U>Hardball</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id881.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heartbreakers"><U>Heartbreakers</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1114.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hedwig and the Angry Inch"><U>Hedwig and the Angry Inch</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id940.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone"><U>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id253.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="High Fidelity"><U>High Fidelity</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Himalaya"><U>Himalaya</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id149.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hollow Man"><U>Hollow Man</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id843.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The House of Mirth"><U>The House of Mirth</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id552.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Im The One I That I Want"><U>I'm The One I That I Want</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id96.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="I Dreamed Of Africa"><U>I Dreamed Of Africa</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id995.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Josie The Pussycats"><U>Josie & The Pussycats</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joy Ride"><U>Joy Ride</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1152.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Juliet of the Spirits"><U>Juliet of the Spirits</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jump Tomorrow"><U>Jump Tomorrow</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1271.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jung"><U>Jung</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id935.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jurassic Park III"><U>Jurassic Park III</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1205.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="KPAX"><U>K-PAX</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id262.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kadosh"><U>Kadosh</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1241.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kaja, Ill Kill You"><U>Kaja, I'll Kill You</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Keeping The Faith"><U>Keeping The Faith</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kestrels Eye"><U>Kestrel's Eye</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id318.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kikujiro"><U>Kikujiro</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id990.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kingdom Come"><U>Kingdom Come</U></A>   |   <B>The King is Alive</B>   |   <A HREF="id537.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="King of Masks, The"><U>King of Masks, The</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1040.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kiss of the Dragon"><U>Kiss of the Dragon</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id813.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kiss of the Spider Woman"><U>Kiss of the Spider Woman</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages For</B></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                    </B><A HREF="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                       </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> The King is Alive</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="475" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 208 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="d2e75590.jpg" border=0 width="117" height="89" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Jennifer Jason Leigh</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="d49628c0.jpg" border=0 width="98" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>  <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0769712231/reelmoviecriticc">Buy King Lear DVD from Amazon.com</A>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="12e264960.png" border=0 width="100" height="150" ALT="Bitmap Image" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">DVD <script language="JavaScript"> function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write("<a href=javascript:popUp('http://buybox.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=reelmoviecriticc&link_code=xsc&creative=23424&camp=2025&path=/dt/assoc/tg/aa/xml/assoc/-/B00003CY24/reelmoviecriticc/ref=ac_bb1_,_amazon')><img src=http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/remote-buy-box/buy1.gif border=0 alt='Buy from Amazon.com' ></a>"); document.close(); </script> <noscript> <form method="POST" action="http://buybox.amazon.com/o/dt/assoc/handle-buy-box=B00003CY24"> <input type="hidden" name="asin.B00003CY24" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="tag-value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="hidden" name="tag_value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="image" name="submit.add-to-cart" value="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/add-to-cart.gif"> </form> </noscript>  </B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>The King is Alive </B>***1/2 ( R )</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="545"><div> Basic human needs</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Jack: Miles Anderson</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Henry: David Bradley</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Liz: Janet McTeer</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Ray: Bruce Davison</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Moses: Vusi Kunene</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Gina: Jennifer Jason Leigh </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Charles: David Calder</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Catherine: Romane Bohringer</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Amanda: Lia William</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Paul: Chris Walker</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Director: Kristian Levring</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: Tourists become lost in the African desert and must struggle to survive as they run low on food and water. To keep from going insane, they stage the play <I>King Lear,</I> which reveals their basic human needs.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> When an airplane takes too long to be repaired, a group of tourists in the North African desert, decide to return to their departure city via bus. Things are going well with Moses (Vusi Kunene), their bus driver, until it becomes clear that the compass used to guide them is not working properly. Soon they are lost and out of gas, stranded where the only living person is an old man (Peter Kubheka), a keen observer who serves as the film's narrator. He remained behind in what used to be a manufacturing town run by the Germans. </div> <bR> <div> Jack (Miles Anderson) takes over as leader of this tribe of travelers, and decides to try and make it on foot to get help. He tells his fellow tourists to burn the tires of the bus in five days if he has not returned, because the black smoke can be seen from a considerable distance.  In the meantime, there are five rules of survival in the desert:    </div> <div> 1. Conserve water and use it wisely…collect water from the evening dew that falls on the roof tops</div> <div> 2. Eat food sparingly…there are old cans of carrots left from the factory</div> <div> 3. Shelter…use the old housing  </div> <div> 4. Always be visible to each other…during the day, use a mirror and at night build a fire and…</div> <div> 5. Above all, keep your spirits up…sing, talk, etc. From this comes the idea of staging a play</div> <bR> <div> Henry (David Bradley), an aging actor, decides to write out Shakespeare's <I>King Lear</I>, which he's committed to memory, and with some reluctance, the others finally agree to participate. As the days pass these lost souls become more weary, and <I>The King is Alive</I> becomes not only a movie about survival, but of exorcising old demons and fulfilling sexual desires, with the raw sexuality that <A HREF="id1005.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Center of the World"><U><I><B>Center of the World </B></I></U></A>strived for, but did not quite achieve. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I>The King is Alive</I> is the most recent film in the Dogma 95 series. Dogma "style" dictates the use of hand held cameras, natural light only and filming on location. Here, the desert of Namibia serves as the North African location. For more information on Dogma filmmaking, go to our <I><B>Legend.</B></I> Other than sound, it could be called "organic movie making." The focus is on what the actors do and the story created, rather than technology in the film making (e.g., <I><B>Pearl Harbor,</B></I><I><B> </B></I><A HREF="id1046.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within"><U><I><B>Final Fantasy</B></I></U></A>).</div> <bR> <div> Ray (Bruce Davison) is sexually distant to his wife Liz (Janet McTeer), and after awhile, she decides to go away for an erotic love making session with Moses. What begins as passionate, stolen time together turns into a surprisingly cruel experience. Paul (Chris Walker) does not like this, as he is quick to tell Moses that white men don't like their women having sex with blacks. Amanda (Lia William), his wife, intercedes and brings about a relative peace. She also tries to maintain calm between Paul and his egocentric father, Charles (David Calder), from whom he's estranged. This trip was to help them come together again. </div> <bR> <div> Cruelty reigns as lives fall apart. Gina (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is captivated by the French speaking Catherine (Romane Bohringer) and wants to be her friend. She loves the sound of the language, even though she does not understand it, and she asks Catherine to tell her a story, any story, in French. Through subtitles, we see the vile, jealous and cruel words she uses to describe the unsuspecting Gina. </div> <bR> <div> Further abuse is heaped (literally) on young, free-spirited Gina as seventy-year-old Charles coerces her into sleeping with him. Gina is a hardheaded person who does not follow all the rules of surviving in the desert and she gets sick. When she is not feeling well, she becomes angry with Charles, and tells him what she really thinks of him. As they "open up" to each other, tragic events occur. </div> <bR> <div> When times get tough, even tough people can implode. Making the right decision at the right time is much easier said than done. When Ray takes off across the desert in search of help and answers, he makes a startling discovery. For some things, there is a point of no return.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> R (sex; nudity; language)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="628" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> Miles Anderson: Fast Food</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> David Calder: The World is not Enough</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> David Bradley: <I><B>Blow Dry</B></I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="335"><div> Bruce Davison: <I><B>X-Men</B></I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Vusi Kunene: Cry, The Beloved Country</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Jennifer Jason Leigh: <A HREF="id1090.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Anniversary Party"><U><I><B>The Anniversary Party</B></I></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Chris Walker: Playing the Field-TV</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="335"><div> Lia William: Bad Blood-TV</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Janet McTeer: <I><B>Tumbleweeds</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="335"><div> Kristian Levring: Love Fools</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>