A Royal Affair

As others have said, this film is based on a true story which is also an important story, especially for Denmark but also for the vastly more liberal Europe that was in the process of being born. The story begins with the arranged marriage between King Christian VII of Denmark and Princess Caroline Matilda of England. By the time the princess was born her brother was already King George III of England, the same king who presided over our own revolution as well as the uneasy union of Ireland with England, making him the first true monarch of the UK. One valuable thing the movie does is to flesh out the very appealing character of Matilda, who was both informal in her manners and a great reader, always curious about, and sympathetic with, the ideas of equality and liberty which were gaining traction in her lifetime. Evidently the realization that their young queen was always considered charming and bright is new even to Danes, who learn the rudiments of this story as schoolchildren much as we learn about our revolutionary figures when we are that age, which is to say, as little more than stick figures. Naturally enough the Danish focus has always been on the king whom Matilda married and their son, who became a very great, justly famous king. At the age of fifteen, Caroline Matilda voyaged to Denmark where she found that she was unlucky in her marriage. Whether Christian was mad or merely erratic, whether he was homosexual or merely inclined to confuse his wife with his daunting mother, he was always viewed as a foolish child by the nobility who controlled him and, through him, the country. Their wish was to insulate Denmark from the modern ideas beginning to permeate Europe while preserving and maximizing their own wealth and power. Social change began when a brilliant German doctor, Struensee, became Christian's first friend and, gradually, his sole political advisor. Eventually, however, for whatever reason (possibly bi-polar illness), Christian sank into a catatonic depression that left Struensee in power as de facto king -- and a very energetic king, too, issuing some 1,069 cabinet orders in about ten months. During this time the two free-thinking foreigners, a low-born German doctor and the English Queen, almost certainly found both joy and solace in the queen's bed, forming as a small and very happy family into which the queen bore a daughter who was almost certainly fathered by Struensee. These events comprise most of the movie which is a joy to watch, beautiful, fascinating, and very erotic. Perhaps because the acting is so very good, the film never becomes either a preachy history lesson or a stilted costume drama. Of course the preternaturally gifted Mikkelsen is a joy to watch, but so are the young Swedish actress who plays the queen and the novice actor who gives a masterful performance as the unfortunate king. Still, even as we enjoy watching the two sensual and charming lovers, we realize that they are behaving very unwisely, failing at every step to protect themselves from the malice of the nobles and the superstitious rage of the people over whom the nobles have great influence. Struensee's worst failure may have been scorning to form any coalition of power with the few nobles who might have been able to protect him from the many nobles who believed that both he and the queen were flouting all Danish custom while demeaning the beloved monarchy. Therefore, for the two lovers, the ending had to be sad, and because the movie has so much emotional power from the first scene, of course their downfall is sad to watch, although it is also brief. Moreover, as we learn in a final summary, in some sense the revolutionary doctor and his queen will triumph in the end, because the Denmark which they wanted so very much to create was soon recreated by Caroline Matilda's son, Frederick, who outdid Struensee himself in bringing about a famously bloodless, and even more liberal, revolution. And that revolution has, of course, endured. This is a movie I can unequivocally recommend as emotionally and aesthetically irresistible.

I viewed this movie with delight. Well done, hardly covers the professional perfection of script, acting, scenes.. Just a really great movie. Fine seller took many pains to advise that is Region 2. Careful shipper. Hope to see more from him.

"En Kongelig affaere" is an R-rated Danish/Swedish production (it opened in March, 2012 in Denmark) based on a novel by Bodil Steensen-Leth. The story is about King Christian VII, an insane king of Denmark, whose young wife falls in love with the royal physician. Pretty tawdry stuff, huh?That's what the over-simplified publicity says. I say that this multi-layered historical drama is absolutely wonderful from beginning to end and it makes us want to re-examine what the history books have said. Every character is fully developed, the costumes and locations are carefully reproduced and the story is based on real people, for better or for worse.It stars: * Alicia Vikander ("Anna Karenina") as the young queen Caroline Mathilde, a member of the British royal family, wed to a Danish king and forever exiled from her homeland. Her situation is little better than slavery, her duty is to bear a heir, nothing more. Her beloved books are sent back to England because the censors don't approve. The camera LOVES this young woman's face! * Mads Mikkelsen ("After the Wedding") as the German-born physician Johann Friedrich Struensee, a reform-minded Free Thinker, who is opposed to serfdom (which is another word for slavery), eager to tax the rich to pay for orphanages, rid the streets of sewage, and vaccinate the general population against smallpox (radical ideas, indeed). This fine actor had us on the edge of our seats! * Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (Lots of Danish TV) is wonderful as King Christian VII, selfish, immature, spontaneous, easily misled and cruelly managed by his self-serving council. As he starts to authorize the reforms suggested by his physician, the privy council fights back. This actor makes us wonder how crazy the king really was...This mixture of Danish, Swedish, French and German (yes, captions) has a voiceover reading a letter from the banished Queen to her children, one of whom, history tells us, is the future King Frederich VI, who transformed Denmark into a modern country.Seattle is a movie-going town, but even I was surprised by the standing-room only crowd in one of the last local theaters where it is playing. I guess the folks who missed it will have to see it on DVD. Of course it being nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2013 Oscars hasn't hurt, either. I share my DVD regularly with friends and family.

La historia sigue a Caroline Mathilde, quien se convierte en reina de Dinamarca al casarse con el rey Cristian VII. Ella se aburre porque el rey es inmaduro y se comporta como un niño. Un día, el doctor Johann Struensee llega por órdenes de la corte. Poco a poco, el doctor comienza a ganarse la confianza de todos y surge una chispa entre él y la reina...Una excelente edición de parte de "Magnolia Pictures".Video: 1080p - 2.35:1 Audio: dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 (24 bit, 48 khz). Subtítulos en inglés y en español.

Preciosa historia biográfica sobre la vida de la reina Carolina de Dinamarca y su marido el rey Christian. Esperaba ver una película de época entretenida, pero me encontré con una gran historia de amor al mejor estilo de "La duquesa" basada en hechos reales realmente exquisita.Las interpretaciones son muy buenas y creíbles, la fotografía es hermosa y la película en general está rodada con un gran preciosismo. La historia de amor de la reina con su médico, Johann Friedrich Struensee es el centro de ella así como las diferentes ideologías que sufre el país durante el convulso gobierno del rey Christian VII, con la introducción de ideas procedentes de la Ilustración. Pasiones secretas, complot y revoluciones son sólo una parte de esta gran y silenciosa, injustamente, película.

Magnífica historia y romance "real" para una noche de domingo. Bien rodada y con grandes interpretaciones.Alicia Vikander es una grande del cine actual.

Me gustó principalmente por la ambientación. Está bien hecha. Ahora mismo hace tiempo que la ví y no recuerdo muy bien de que iba el guión . La compré para regalar

Me encantó por la temática, una película de época que refleja bastante bien la sociedad del momento y el estilo de vida.