Kingdom of Us

Audience Reviews

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Dec 12, 2018 A note: thank you to the family. Thank you for bearing your hearts and lives on camera for all to see. Thank you for your honesty, and for the powerful way in which you remind the audience of the ever-present hope in the midst of the deepest of darkness, and the heaviest of grief. Your bravery is beautiful and inspiring. Rooting for all of you. See more

Hagrid G Jan 29, 2018 I liked this movie, but I wanted a little more detail on the father. I guess that was not what this film was meant to do. Great use of archival video and lots of very honest talk from the family. See more

Theodore S Oct 22, 2017 A very deep and intimate view of a family struggling to understand, remember and wonder why a person so genetically close to them would decide to leave them so prematurely. This movie really seemed to touch areas of the loss of my own father which I still haven't fully processed and didn't even realize still existed. Despite his death being of natural causes. As a viewer, the producer and director leave you wanting to know more about the "what, how and why's" all while relating to the children who seem to also be struggling along with you. A very sad story when seen through the eyes of the kids and the effect it will likely always have on you. However, it's also a story of a strong family who realize they are all each other has. They are at first appearance, a torn broken family. However, by the end of the movie you quickly make the shift to understanding they're the opposite. One of the strongest families you've likely ever seen. Thank you to the producers, director and especially the Shank's for telling their story. See more

Albus S Oct 22, 2017 The film lacks details necessary to fully understand the family's situation or empathize with the characters. Many aspects of their life seemed to be glossed over. For example, the mother talks about wanting to shield her children more, but no details are given regarding the father's difficult behaviors (besides a couple of superficial references to him being sad when everyone else was happy) and one daughter recounting how he said she looked like a crack whore. It is not known how often the father displayed these negative behaviors and whether he had schizophrenia or some other mental illness. All of the children went to private school, but I was left wondering how the family had so much money and what the parents did to make a living. All in all, the film dragged and was actually quite boring; I kept waiting for the big bomb shell, but it never came. Overall, I felt like I was watching the surface of a deep story and the depth that was needed to fully engage with the film and the people profiled was missing. I didn't get much out of the film and was left with a lot of unanswered questions, which made me feel like I could have spent my time doing something more productive. See more

Oct 19, 2017 Rather than watching a documenter, it feels like Lucy Cohen showed us a movie. A great documentary that made me feel like I'm also going through a struggle with Vikkie and her child, allowing me to sympathize with what they're going through. Though it was wrapped in an emotional approach to enable audience empathizing with the Shanks, sometimes it made me feel like it's more like a fiction than a real thing. See more

Hermione L Oct 13, 2017 This documentary is heart wrenching. If you like a good cry, then this will do it. Most of us cannot even begin to fathom the pain this family feels or the emotions they still deal with after the death of their father. They all clearly loved him, but most of the children (mainly the older ones) vividly remember the downs as their father battled bipolar and OCD. In clips shown from video tapes he made, you can see both sides. His happy go loving husband and dad side, and the dark cloud that often overcomes people battling mental illnesses. It's eye opening and somber. See more

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Kingdom of Us

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