A Royal Affair

The Queen and the personal physician is a Danish film history from the year of 2012. Nikolaj Arcel The staged by Drama is a literary adaptation of a novel by Bodil Steno - Leth and is located in Denmark in the late 18th century. It represents the rise and fall of the physician Johann Friedrich Struensee dar. the Danish royal court

The German theatrical release took place on 19 April 2012.

In September 2012, The Queen and the physician was selected as the official candidate of Denmark on an Oscar nomination in the category Best Foreign Language Film. The film won against Susanne Bier The skaldede Frisør and Bille August's Marie Krøyer by.

Action

The conflict is told as a flashback. The terminally ill Danish Queen Caroline Mathilde writes from her exile in Celle a letter to their children so that they can understand her mother's life later. In it she describes how she grew up in England with her cousin King Christian VII of Denmark was married, without ever having seen him.

The King turns out to be immature and not very interested in Caroline. He pulls at night rather by brothels and looks at plays. After the birth of his son, Caroline called him only " mother ". Life at the court will be more tolerable for them after Johann Friedrich Struensee, a doctor of the poor from Altona returns with Enlightenment ideas, as Christian's personal physician with that of a journey. Struensee is able to manage with the difficult personality Christians, can distract and divert him. Caroline and Struensee fall in love. The Queen encouraged the personal physician to make a decision on his influence on the king laws and ordinances by the governing council. The Council President Bernstorff, himself a German wants to eliminate the annoying and not befitting their German rivals, but the king dissolves the Council and appoints his friend Struensee the all-powerful minister. This can now enforce reforms in the spirit of the Enlightenment as the general smallpox vaccination, the abolition of censorship and the prohibition of torture. Because of the financial problems of the state where it reduces also covers the nobility and means for the military and thereby undermined his position of power. The stepmother of the king who wants to tow her own son on the throne, uses rumors about the not inconsequential at heart love relationship between Struensee and Queen - this gives the daughter of Louise Auguste life - to ally with the nobility and the palace guard against Struensee. Struensee and a helper are arrested, tortured and sentenced to death. The king would pardon his friend, but is ignored by the resurgent Adel clique. Struensee is decapitated, Queen Caroline is banished to Celle, where she dies.

At the end of the film you can see how years later handed over to the children of the letter. The son of Friedrich takes a short time later the regency and provides the reforms Struensee restored.

Background

Production

The new film should first " The visit of the Royal Physician " are based on Per Olov Enquist's book. The film rights for Enquist's book for several years, however, were at Nordisk Film, Yellow Bird and ZDF. The film company Zentropa first tried unsuccessfully to buy the rights. Then Zentropa acquired the film rights to the novel " Prinsessegaten af blodet " by Bodil Steno - Leth and let the screenwriters Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg write a script on the base. Unlike Enquist's book presents Steno - Leth's novel, the events from the perspective of Queen Caroline Mathilde dar. Per Olov Enquist nevertheless saw in the script of the film copyright infringement. Zentropa dismissed the criticism as unfounded.

More films

The historic character of Dr. Struensee and his love for the Danish monarch already offered earlier material for three widely acclaimed films:

As early as 1923 the silent film was shown the love of a queen of Louis Wolff with the following cast: Harry Liedtke ( Struensee ), Henny Porten ( Queen ), Walter Janssen (king), Adele Sandrock, Max Gülstorff. Production companies were the Austro-Americana - Film-Company and the Maxim - film company Ebner & Co.

1935 was the British film The Dictator in the cinemas, which was awarded in Germany under the title My Heart of queen. Directed by Victor Saville played Clive Brook ( Struensee ), Madeleine Carroll ( Queen ) and Emlyn Williams (King).

Was particularly successful in Germany in 1956 caused production rulers without crown by Harald Braun. The prominent cast included OW Fischer in the role of the physician Odile Versois as his royal mistress and Horst Buchholz as their man.

Reviews

" The historical film indeed feel in some exciting sequences, Dialectic of Enlightenment 'to' place overall but no thematic focus and not linked the substance to the present. "

" But the focus here is rather the eponymous queen, but especially a hemdsärmeliger personal physician and reconnaissance, the fresh wind brings to the Danish royal house. A little more momentum would have done well even the fussy little stiff and therefore coming ham costume in other respects. "

" That the film at the Berlinale this year, however, was able to win two bears, but is surprising. Once, because Folsgaard got the performer award, although Mikkelsen plays much more succinct. Above all, however, because even the screenplay Bear went to this production. This drama is tasteful costume theater, nothing more. "

" The Danish director told calmly and without emotion, his paintings are exquisite, but never lose yourself in the magnificent decor. "

Awards

  • International Film Festival 2012: Silver Bears in the categories of Best Actor ( Mikkel Boe Følsgaard ) and Best Screenplay ( Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg )
  • European Film Awards 2012: Nominations in the categories of Best Art Direction ( Niels Sejer ) and Best Original Score ( Cyrille Aufort and Gabriel Yared )
2012 in film Film score Caroline Matilda of Great Britain Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film O. W. Fischer Politiken LexisNexis
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