Rent A Royal Affair (2012)

More than a mere costume drama - a superb film - A Royal Affair review by RP

More than a mere costume drama, this is a part of our history that I was unaware of before watching this superb film. Search Wikipedia for 'Caroline Matilda' and read all about it...

At age 15 HRH Princess Caroline Matilda, daughter of the Prince of Wales was married off to her cousin, King Christian VII of Denmark. The film is a dramatisation of her relationship with Christian and her affair with the royal physician, Johann Friedrich Struensee.

Both Caroline's brother (George III) and her husband suffered from mental illness - and the film depicts Struensee taking advantage of Christian's illness to advance his ideas influenced by 'The Age of Enlightenment' then sweeping across Europe. Not unexpectedly this met with considerable opposition from both Court and Church, with unfortunate and deadly consequences.

The film is in Danish with subtitles, although there are a few words in English. The subtitles are hard to read, but bear with it...

The film is beautifully photographed, well acted and tells a moving tale. Superb stuff - 5/5 stars.

Brilliant, intelligent, enjoyable historical Danish royal drama. Best foreign movie of 2012 - A Royal Affair review by PV

This film is brilliant! It may be 2 hours long but I was never bored and never looked at my watch once! It knocks the spots of pretentious royal dramas like Young Victoria or Mrs Brown. It is the best foreign film of 2012, IMHO.

It is in Danish and occasionally German with subtitles (my ONLY criticism is of these - which are white, so which don't show up well whe a snowy landscape is on screen!) But it's only a minor quibble. In general, the subtitles do their job adequately enough.

This film is very well structured and written - unlike so many dull historical and royal dramas (which wallow in the sparkle of historical monarchs) - and the tension is kept up throughout.

The acting is first class - though the Danish actors are all unknowns.

The scenery is delightful too, and the direction captures the era well.

And the story itself is fascinating - and one I did not know (not being well-read in Danish history).

I would award this the prize for best foreign film 2012. I might award some of the actors Oscars too.

In a word: BRILLIANT!

Anyone who has missed this movie is in for a delightful surprise!

Five stars out of five.

A masterpiece set in late 18th-century Denmark, mixing political drama with romantic intrigue - A Royal Affair review by Philip in Paradiso

The story takes place in late 18th-century Denmark (the film is in Danish with subtitles). Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (Alicia Vikander) marries Christian VII of Denmark (on the throne from 1766 to 1808). Christian is an eccentric and difficult character, who is widely considered to be mentally deranged. The situation is difficult for the British princess at Court, in Copenhagen, where the atmosphere is very conservative, stifling and fairly insular. The status-quo is called into question when a part-German doctor, Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen), is hired to be the King's personal physician. Struensee is a man of the Enlightenment. The idea is that he will be able to help the King cope better. Struensee and the King soon become very close. The story develops from there. It takes place from the late 1760s to the mid-1770s.

The film is remarkably good for 2 main reasons. First of all, the story is amazing and fascinating in its own right, and so are the key characters. What is even more striking is that the story is entirely true: the movie is historically accurate, from what I have read about the chain of events in Denmark at the time. Second, the film re-creates the events and the context in a truly remarkable way. It is not only that the acting of all the characters is excellent and the story rings true from start to finish. It is also that the film manages to re-create the atmosphere at Court in Copenhagen at the time so well, with the political and the personal factors overlapping in subtle ways. It is very rare for a period film to do this so successfully, more particularly when dealing with historical dramas set in Europe prior to c.1850.

Within the parameters of the genre, this is a truly memorable and superb film. If it were not a Scandinavian production in Danish with subtitles, it would be far better known. I would say it is one of the best movies I have seen in the past 10 years, and one of the best period films of this kind, ever.