A ROYAL AFFAIR: Costume Drama on Love Triangle Which Reformed the Danish Monarchy

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A ROYAL AFFAIR: Costume Drama on Love Triangle Which Reformed the Danish Monarchy
by Darius Kadivar
23-Aug-2012
 

The true story of a young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician. Together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever... (Source: persianrealm.com)

 

Official Trailer (UK release):

 

 

Plot :

Arcel's first-rate Danish costume drama (co-produced by Lars von Trier) will introduce most moviegoers to the fascinating tragedy of the love affair in the 1770s between England's Caroline, wife of the problematic Danish King Christian, and the king's German physician, Johann Struensee, both dedicated social progressives. This struggle between a conservative, repressive regime and representatives of the Enlightenment preceded the French Revolution and is crucially related to the issues of their day and to the present. It's as interesting a portrait of late 18th-century life as Amadeus or The Madness of King George.

 

Title : A Royal Affair (En Kongelig Affaere)

 

Production year: 2012

 

Director: Nikolaj Arcel

Cast: Alicia Vikander, David Dencik, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Folsgaard, Trine Dyrholm

 

 

 

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BONUS FEATURES

 

Interviews with Cast & Crew

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Mads Mikkelsen- A Royal Affair Interview:

Mads Mikkelsen talks "A Royal Affair/Die Königin und der Leibarzt/"En kongelig affære" during the 62nd International Berlin Film Festival 2012.

 

Mads Mikkelsen- A Royal Affair – Royal Premiere in Denmark :

Mads Mikkelsen & the cast of ""A Royal Affair/Die Königin und der Leibarzt/"En kongelig affære" at the gala premiere of the movie in Copenhagen which was attended by Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. The video also features an interview with two of the cast members: Mikkel Følsgaard and Trine Dyrholm.


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PRESS CONFERENCE

 

BERLINALE 2012

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A Royal Affair | press conference Berlinale 2012

Part I:


Par II:

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A ROYAL AFFAIR : REVIEW

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A Royal Affair by Ed Gibbs (Sydney Morning Herald)

Something is very rotten in the state of Denmark. Or at least, it was in the 18th century. While radically forward-thinking reforms were sweeping across Europe, the Danes were being ruled by an inept young king who was clearly mentally unfit to rule and who allowed his council to favour land owners over the poor, leaving them to live in disease-riddled squalor.

Nikolaj Arcel's sumptuous period epic relives a fascinating, yet largely forgotten, period in history with vigour and grace. In keeping with the royal fashions of the time, a beautiful English princess, Caroline (played by rising star Alicia Vikander), is forced at the age of 15 to marry her cousin, King Christian VII. Arriving in Denmark, the soon-to-be queen naturally expects her future husband to be sophisticated and culturally aware. Instead, she discovers, to her horror, that Christian (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard) is a childlike, foul-mouthed fool, more interested in drinking and whoring his way around the palace than running his divided nation.

To complicate matters, Christian craves love and affection - at least, in both a brotherly and motherly way. And with his scheming stepmother, Julianne (Trine Dyrholm), hovering dangerously in the background, the young king takes a shine to his personal physician Johann Struensse (Mads Mikkelsen), a forward-thinking adviser who favours ridding the poor of disease and distributing wealth and power in a more democratic way. Initially, at least, he has the king's eye, rising rapidly to a position of power, while also forging a forbidden romance with his queen. Playing Struensse would be a challenge for any actor worth his salt.

Thankfully, the task falls to Mikkelsen, a winner last month at Cannes for his performance in Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt, and lauded in Berlin for his exemplary turn here. Mikkelsen (aka the villain in Casino Royale) offers clarity and insight, with just the right degree of subtlety and restraint.

An epic that harks back to the great Amadeus in its detail and vision, it is one of the finest, most refreshing period dramas to emerge in a very long time.


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Other Related Film Blogs:

FAREWELL, MY QUEEN: Diane Kruger cast as a "lesbian Marie Antoinette"

ROYALTY ON SCREEN: The Madness of King George (1994)

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