A Royal Affair
En kongelig affære
Nikolaj Arcel
© Jour2Fête
Denmark, 1770. Queen Caroline Mathilde’s secret passion for the king’s physician, the influential Struensee, is set to change the fate of the entire nation forever. A Royal Affair tells of a pivotal chapter in Danish history, one that has been overlooked in French history textbooks. The romantic and intellectual relationship between Caroline Mathilde and Struensee, strongly influenced by the philosophers of the Enlightenment, foremost among them Rousseau and Voltaire, would lead to the overthrow of the established social order and herald the revolutions that would sweep across Europe twenty years later.
Cast : Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik
Scenario: Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
Cinematography: Rasmus Videbæk
Editing: Kasper Leick, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
Music: Cyrille Aufort, Gabriel Yared
Scenario: Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
Cinematography: Rasmus Videbæk
Editing: Kasper Leick, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
Music: Cyrille Aufort, Gabriel Yared
Production : Zentropa Entertainments, Danmarks Radio (DR), Trollhättan Film
Distribution : Jour2fête
Distribution : Jour2fête
"With A Royal Affair, Nicolaj Arcel achieved his first success as a director. Having written the screenplay for the noir thriller Millennium (2009), he won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 2012 Berlinale for this historical epic. He explores a fascinating period in Danish history: the political influence of the king’s physician, driven by Enlightenment ideals, which would make Christian VII one of the first enlightened monarchs of the 18th century. Nicolaj Arcel won the Audience Award at Angers twice for his student films Woyzeck’s Last Symphony and Help, My Stepfather is a Monster.
"The Nordic countries are often held up as examples for their social and political models. A Royal Affair implicitly sets out to demonstrate the long-standing nature of this reputation of being pioneers. The winds of revolution brush past the protagonists in this romantic-political drama set thirty years before they swept through France and Europe. With this epic blend of emotion and reflection, Nikolaj Arcel successfully succeeds in the delicate task of creating a sensitive and insightful film about events that are well known to the Danes, yet unknown to everyone else."(Carole Milleliri; critikat.com)
"The Nordic countries are often held up as examples for their social and political models. A Royal Affair implicitly sets out to demonstrate the long-standing nature of this reputation of being pioneers. The winds of revolution brush past the protagonists in this romantic-political drama set thirty years before they swept through France and Europe. With this epic blend of emotion and reflection, Nikolaj Arcel successfully succeeds in the delicate task of creating a sensitive and insightful film about events that are well known to the Danes, yet unknown to everyone else."(Carole Milleliri; critikat.com)