Directed by Nikolaj Arclarcel, 2012, Denmark and Sweden
From January 17 through 20, 2013.
A grand period drama with a lusty, beating heart, A Royal Affair displays talent, charm and a sharp, contemporary edge to this notorious true story of illicit love and political intrigue. The superb acting, gorgeous costumes and assured direction create both a sweepingly romantic and subtly nuanced portrait of this infamous episode in Denmark’s history. At once intimate and epic, A Royal Affair is one of the finest, most well crafted period dramas in recent memory.
In the late eighteenth century, Denmark is ruled by the spoiled King Christian VII, for whom governing takes a decided backseat to playing with his dog and indulging in all the pleasure of the flesh. That weakness makes him susceptible to the designs of cunning courtiers. Enter Johann Struensee, a ruggedly handsome German doctor and staunch proponent of the Enlightenment’s reformist principles, who is so well liked by the king when they meet abroad that he is asked to return with the monarch to Copenhagen as his personal physician. There, Struensee discovers his political match in the king’s physically and intellectually captivating queen, Caroline Mathilde, who happens to be somewhat starved for attention.
Eager to use his influence to advance the cause of social reform, Struensee partners with the queen to convince the king to embark on an aggressive campaign of reforms — all of which stand in direct opposition to the conservative principles espoused by the king’s governing council. These two kindred spirits soon find themselves so engrossed in their explosive passion for each other that they fail to notice the conspiracies taking shape around them. What unfolds is a tale of high-flown idealism undone by the blind passion of love.
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