Lars Von Trier On Parkinson’s Diagnosis: “I Just Have To Get Used To That I Shake And Not Be Shameful In Front Of People”

Lars von Trier returned to the Venice Film Festival on Thursday with the third and final season of his “The Kingdom” series, “The Kingdom Exodus.” And the show’s premiere was an overwhelming success, with the crowd reportedly cheering every time von Trier’s name was mentioned or came on screen. But von Trier also brought some sad news to the Lido this year: his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, which the director found out four months ago.

READ MORE: Lars Von Trier Diagnosed With Parkinson’s Disease

Variety reports that von Trier plans to take a break from directing to adjust to his new life with the disease. “I will take a little break and find out what to do,” von Trier said in a group media interview at Venice. “But I certainly hope that my condition will be better. It’s a disease you can’t take away; you can work with the symptoms, though.” But von Trier has no plans to retire from filmmaking permanently. “I just have to get used to that I shake and not be shameful in front of people,” he added, “And then continue because what else should I do?”

“The Kingdom Exodus” is von Trier’s first project since the 2018 serial killer film “The House That Jack Built.” Von Trier’s received his Parkinson’s diagnosis four months ago, but he battled symptoms of it for longer, affecting the show’s production. “That means that I had not lived up to the way I wanted to be as a director, because I was ill,” von Trier told the press. “And that’s a pity for the [“The Kingdom Exodus”] actors, but I think they did okay.”  MUBI will oversee the show’s US release on their streamer this Fall.

“Exodus” is the first season of “The Kingdom” since 1997. So, why did von Trier decide to return to the show’s world after all this time? ““If you compare to David Lynch, he certainly didn’t really have an end to “Twin Peaks“– but I actually had an end to this all the time,” von Trier said. “The only thing that happened was that the actors died. [Two major characters, Ernst-Hugo Järegård, who played Dr. Helmer, and Kirsten Rolffes, who played Mrs. Drusse, died in 1998 and 2000, respectively] But I felt some obligation to give it some kind of an ending.” The show’s final season follows a sleepwalker who seeks unresolved questions earlier in the series to save the hospital from doom.  

Does von Trier have any idea what he’ll make next? No, but his outlook on the world remains as bleak as ever. “I think it’s a terrible world,” von Trier said. “I have two grandchildren. And to see how what they are going to have to fix that we didn’t fix for them – I’m not very optimistic about that, I think it’s a mess. And the political situation is terrible. We have been very naive thinking that from now on the democracy will just rise and things will get better and better,” von Trier added. “It’s a mess that we leave on to a new generation, not to talk about the climate.”

So, even with his Parkinson’s diagnosis, von Trier retains his frank, dark sensibility. Stay tuned for when “The Kingdom Exodus” premieres on MUBI this Fall.