From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kristian Levring is a Danish director born in 1957 in Denmark. He was the fourth signatory of Dogme95. He lived eight years in France. He graduated in editing at the National Film School of Denmark and has edited a large number of documentaries and feature films besides directing two feature films, among these, Et skud fra hjertet (1986). He is the recipient of some 23 Danish and international awards for his commercials. The King is Alive (Dogme 4) is his third feature film. The King is Alive tells the story of a mixed group of tourists in Namibia, Africa, whose bus breaks down in a remote, abandoned village (formerly a mining town). Facing starvation, dehydration, cabin fever, and death, one of the group decides to stage a production of Shakespeare's King Lear and casts the others as characters. As the thin veneer of civilized behavior breaks down, the group experiences the absurdity of putting on a play (for no audience except one lone indigenous man) in such dire and fatal circumstances. Filmed in stark digital and adhering to the tenets of Dogme filmmaking, The King is Alive is a fascinating study in the dark heart of people under extreme stress. Herzogian in its theme and mood, the film's location (remote Namibia) is as much a character in the film as the actors, like the space ship in Ridley Scott's Alien. The King is Alive features Jennifer Jason-Leigh and Brion James (Blade Runner's "Leon"; Cabin Boy). Dark, tense, and desperate, it stands as a powerful piece of filmmaking. Levring's next film after The King is Alive is called The Intended and features some of the same actors from the former. Set in the jungle of Borneo in the 1920s, it concerns an isolated English settlement/ivory trading station. Similar in nature to The King is Alive, it focuses on what happens to small isolated groups under both internal psychological pressure and external pressure from the environment around them. As The King is Alive was filmed by Dogme rules and restrictions, The Intended instead has steady camera shots (rather than shaky/handheld) and ambient music throughout. Subtle yet powerful, the film explores Conradian contexts through the lens of a female perspective. Its influence can be seen in the Australian frontier film The Proposition. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kristian Levring, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 9, 1967 (59)
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Director and writer
- 5 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
What are Kristian Levring's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 4
Grounded 1 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 4
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Kristian Levring's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Kristian Levring's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
10 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The Salvation(2014)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Den du frygter(2008)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Doxa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Idiotic Filters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
The Intended(2002)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
The King Is Alive(2000)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
D-Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Et skud fra hjertet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
66 Scenes from America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Career shape
A full career of 10 titles from 1982 to 2020.
How do Kristian Levring's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 51st percentile, the median of the 4 of 5 with a score; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 47th percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
2 of their 4 titles are Mixed.
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 79/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Kristian Levring work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kristian Levring's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jens Schlosser shares the most, 4.
Writers
- Anders Thomas JensenShared titles: The Salvation (2014), Den du frygter (2008), The King Is Alive (2000)See all 3 shared titles with Anders Thomas Jensen
Actors
- David BradleyShared titles: The Intended (2002), The King Is Alive (2000)See all 2 shared titles with David Bradley
- Janet McTeerShared titles: The Intended (2002), The King Is Alive (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Janet McTeer
Cinematographers and editors
- Jens SchlosserShared titles: The Salvation (2014), Den du frygter (2008), The Intended (2002), The King Is Alive (2000)See all 4 shared titles with Jens Schlosser
- Pernille Bech ChristensenShared titles: The Salvation (2014), Den du frygter (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Pernille Bech Christensen
- Nicholas Wayman-HarrisShared titles: The Intended (2002), The King Is Alive (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Nicholas Wayman-Harris
Producers
- Charlotte PedersenShared titles: The Salvation (2014), Den du frygter (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Charlotte Pedersen
- Karen BentzonShared titles: The Salvation (2014), Den du frygter (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Karen Bentzon
- Peter Aalbæk JensenShared titles: The Salvation (2014), The King Is Alive (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Aalbæk Jensen
- Sisse Graum JørgensenShared titles: The Salvation (2014), Den du frygter (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Sisse Graum Jørgensen
