A Royal Affair

Solid work in every way, but perhaps too solid and classic. For me, the film was lacking anything that would easily provoke and break the nobility, predictability and didactic nature. However, it must be admitted that in grasping the theme of the Enlightenment (egalitarianism) and the defense of the rights of ordinary people against the arbitrariness of the nobility and the Church, this film goes much further than Ridley Scott's latest films, at least because it focuses on the practical side of equality and challenges the character of the "liberator". In addition, it works well as a love triangle - particularly the character of King Christian is great and can be viewed in different ways. Even though it's very dumbed-down and sometimes too melodramatic, it's still a film that's worth it - it doesn't offend, it doesn't think of the viewer as an idiot, and it tries to think indirectly about current problems. The result is cautious, but quite sympathetic. (04/05/2012)

A gauntlet thrown down to the American and British often extremely overdone aristocratic tea parties of yesteryear. Although there are about twenty or so shots that alternate the brooding twenty-second glances of the two main characters, fortunately it’s not that bad. Whether the nobility actually practiced such body language in the past is hard to say, but it is extremely negative for the viewer's attention. In A Royal Affair, the European directorial signature is apparent very early on. It's a lush, suitably flamboyant piece with costumes and sets, the pace of which is linearly escalating as the running time draws to a close. The last five minutes are pure directorial magic and the story of the false accusation of a member of the court takes a fantastic turn, almost to the point of tragedy of gigantic proportions. The history of Denmark isn't well known, but this film makes you want to devour it from A to Z. This is where Alicia Vikander's incredible talent was apparently discovered. It's not 100 percent there yet, like The Danish Girl or The Light Between Oceans, but the potential cannot be denied. (02/03/2017)

I really like period movies, but what often happens to me is that they start to bore me after a while because of the way they tell their story. Despite that, A Royal Affair is the exact opposite of such movies, so I got to enjoy it fully for more than two hours. Even though the story is told with historical accuracy, there isn’t a single moment that I would find outright boring. Mads Mikkelsen once again puts in an absolutely perfect performance, the setting of Czech palaces and the Czech landscape is simply amazing, and Alicia Vikander and Folgaard put in absolutely perfect performances in their roles. It’s actually really hard to believe that the Danish mobility could be capable of such bad things. You see I didn’t know anything about Danish history until I saw this film, which is why this strong story really surprised me. This is one of the best movies from the area of the nobility that I have ever seen and it’s great that our country had a little part in making that movie as well. And what makes it even greater is that after the Danish production finished this movie, they decided to shoot the most expensive Danish period movie in our country again. I’m looking forward to that one. (02/25/2013)

Nordic cinema has definitely become popular in recent times, and even though Denmark is not exactly a Scandinavian country, it is very close to them. This is evident in the film, which is truly surprising. If you look at this year's Oscar nominations, you will find that foreign language films are not lacking. Why is this? First and foremost, it is because it is a film. Not everyone can master the craft, not everyone can transform a script into a believable story. Historical drama is quite challenging to bring to the screen because it must be believable. Historical events must fit together, costumes, scenery, transportation, furniture, everyday items, the environment, everything must evoke a sense that we are truly in the past and that we are witnessing the described period, in this case, the second half of the 18th century. In the film "Royal Affair," everything looks truly perfect, but that is not a guarantee that the film will be perfect in other aspects as well. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2013/02/kralovska-afera-2012-85.html (03/15/2013)

The film features a quality cast. Mads Mikkelsen has rightfully gained recognition among viewers worldwide. The direction is decent, albeit conservative, but the weakness of the film is the screenplay, which cannot avoid excessive melodrama and black-and-white characters, as well as the schematic and simplistic depiction of historical processes. It's a 3-and-a-half-star rating, but considering the subject matter and my connection to enlightenment, this time I lean toward a higher rating. Overall impression: 70%. (10/01/2013)