#the king is alive

Day 18: A film you wish they’d never been involved in

Liz,The King is Alive

I feel like a traitor for saying that there’s any piece of work Janet has made that I strongly dislike, but as compared to her other film, television, and theatre roles, she for certain could have skipped this one altogether. I feel like I’ve seen my share of fucked-up movies, and this one doesn’t necessarily take the cake, but it comes pretty effing close. It’s dirty, so fucking dirty, like the actors are literally covered in sand for almost the entire film, and the lighting is horrifically bright, like the fucking sun is coming through your TV screen bright. Not to mention the setting is an African desert. The characters are basically losing their minds from malnourishment (they have a scarce amount of cans of out-of-date carrots), extreme temperatures (blazing hot during the day, freezing at night), and all the while, they are attempting to put on a Shakespearean tragedy. Odd concept all around if you ask me. Plus, Janet’s talents were not put to good use in this role. It was an ensemble, but I felt like there was too much focus on Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character and the other male cast members. Really, if there is one Janet movie you can legitimately skip, this is it. I do have it as part of my collection of her work, but I’ve seen it once and honestly never want to watch it again.