Movieo
Poster for King of the Hill

King of the Hill

When the world turns upside down, the trick is coming out on top.

1993 · 1h 43m · PG-13 Drama, History
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Seen it?

Overview

Based on the Depression-era bildungsroman memoir of writer A. E. Hotchner, the film follows the story of a boy struggling to survive on his own in a hotel in St. Louis after his mother is committed to a sanatorium with tuberculosis. His father, a German immigrant and traveling salesman working for the Hamilton Watch Company, is off on long trips from which the boy cannot be certain he will return.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
97%
Tomatometer
Fresh

The film does a lovely job of juxtaposing the sharp contrasts in Aaron's life, and in marveling at the fact that he survives as buoyantly as he does.

Janet Maslin, New York Times
Fresh

A remarkable odyssey about a resilient young hero who uses both his imagination and his sense of reality to survive.

James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Fresh

With the kind of material you'd never dream of associating with him, Soderbergh has made his best film.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh

It's his best work by far.

Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Rotten

The slow-paced King of the Hill is a feel-good fable in which it's difficult to work up any worry over a boy with clearly unsinkable spirits.

Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Comments

Talk about the film with other members

More films