In Denmark, the events depicted in A Royal
Affair are well known, with the scandal and its consequences taught in
schools, as well as inspiring numerous books, an opera and a ballet.[1]
For viewers in the UK, however, the tale is likely less familiar, unless acquainted
with either Per Olov Enquist’s novelisation The Visit of the Royal Physician
(1999), or Stella Tillyard’s historical overview of George III’s extended
family, also titled A Royal Affair (2006). At a push, some may
recollect The Dictator, a British adaptation directed by Victor Saville
in 1935 (not to be confused with the recent Sacha Baron Cohen comedy). But
despite the handful of precursors, it’s fair to say the source story does not carry
the same popular recognition that supplied The Other Boleyn Girl (Justin
Chadwick, 2008), Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006) or The Young
Victoria (Jean-Marc Valée, 2009) – to offer a handful of recent monarchic
releases – with ready-made audiences. To summarise: the erratic and troubled
King Christian VII presides over 18th century Denmark with an
unsteady hand, manipulated and side-lined by his council; physician Johann
Friedrich Struensee uses his close relationship with the King to implement liberal
reforms, whilst conducting an affair with the Queen; the exposure of their
trysts threatens both Struensee’s legacy, and his life. As far as royal dramas
go, it offers considerably more interest than a damp flotilla down the Thames.
A Royal Affair
fulfils multiple genre expectations: handsomely-dressed courtiers walk gilded
hallways; primped kings and queens inhabit opulent ballrooms and take horseback
jaunts through enormous fiefdoms; corseted passions give way to lust. Throughout,
opulence fills the frame, yet director Nikolaj Arcel (who also co-wrote with
regular collaborator Rasmus Heisterberg) insists that such trappings are mere
background details, choosing to instead subtly align the film with a more
contemporary style of filmmaking. In his director’s statement, Arcel writes:
“my creative team and I were… fired up by the idea of bringing the Scandinavian
historical drama into the new century. We didn’t want to ‘show’ history, didn’t
want to dwell pointlessly on… the fancy dresses and hairdos, or the way the
food was served. Rather, we wanted people to simply experience the story
through the eyes of the characters, taking the 1760s for granted. Even though
the period is obviously there in the set designs, the costumes… it was filmed
and edited as we would have filmed and edited a film taking place in modern
Copenhagen.”[2] In interview, he
reiterates the point. “What we really wanted to do,” he explains, “was to bring
the historical Scandinavian film into the new Millennium.”[3]
The
capitalisation of ‘Millennium’ is accidental, but it has pertinent allusions.
Arcel and Heisterberg are best known for adapting Steig Larsson’s Män som
hatar kvinnor, retitled The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) in English. The
source novel and its sequels form the ‘Millennium trilogy’, the monumental
success and popularity of which is well documented (in brief, approximately 55 million
copies sold worldwide as of December 2011,[4]
supported by a hit film adaptation that broke domestic box office records). During
approximately the same period, another type of Nordic thriller has cultivated a
comparably fervent fan-base, with Danish television drama shipped abroad to
cultish praise: from The Killing (Forbrydelsen, 2007 – present) through
to Borgen (2010 – present), Those Who Kill (Den som Dræber,
2011) and The Bridge (Broen, 2011 – present). A Royal Affair
provides, of course, a very different viewing experience from Sarah Lund’s grim
sleuthing or Lisbeth Salander’s vengeful agenda (though fans of either will spot
many recognisable faces amongst the cast, including Dragon Tattoo’s
David Dencik and The Killing’s Cyron Bjørn Melville). Nonetheless, it’s
worth noting the way certain articles and reviews have sought to distinguish A
Royal Affair from its ostensible genre: for instance, SBS paraphrase initial
press reactions to its Berlinale premiere as “a period film for people who don’t
like period films.”[5]
Similarly, in an interview with The Huffington Post, Arcel stresses that his film
is, first and foremost, a love story, but then goes on to emphasise its political-thriller
credentials.[6]
Such statements seem designed to petition multiple markets – both period drama
enthusiasts, but also those with a more contemporary, voguish interest in Danish
cultural exports.
A final point of comparison is Arcel’s directorial
debut, King’s Game (Kongekabale, 2004). Like A Royal Affair,
its plot features conspiracy in the corridors of Christiansborg – though not
the lavish palace of Enlightenment-era Copenhagen. Rather, King’s Game
takes place in the second replacement building to stand on the same ground (the
original palace burned down in 1794; its replacement was likewise destroyed in
1884). The third Christiansborg continues to house royal reception rooms, while
also acting as seat of the Danish Supreme Court and the country’s parliament,
the Folketing; it is in the latter that the journalists and politicians
of King’s Game conduct their schemes and counter-schemes. Betrayal,
treason and sedition: the thematic similarities between the two films is clear,
with both scrutinising the machinations of power, and the lengths some will go
to acquire (and maintain) it. That the two are set on the same geographical site
adds nuance to each film’s respective political portrait; though based on events
200 years removed, A Royal Affair ultimately feels modern in more ways
than one.
Christopher Buckle
Researcher and Journalist
June 2012
[1]
Nikolaj Arcel (2012), ‘A Royal Affair:
Director’s Statement’, accessed 12/06/12 at http://www.aroyalaffairthemovie.com/assets/downloads/Directorsstatement.pdf
[2] ibid
[3]
‘The Perfect Mix Between Passion and Power’ (2012), accessed 12/06/12 at http://www.aroyalaffairthemovie.com/assets/downloads/Arcel_interview_UK.pdf
[4]
Alex Godfrey (2011) ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Steven Zaillian on the
difficulties of adapting Stieg Larsson’, The
Guardian, accessed 12/06/12 at http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/dec/17/girl-with-dragon-tattoo-steven-zaillian
[5] Helen
Barlow (2012), ‘A Royal Affair: Nikolaj Arcel Interview’ accessed 12/06/12 at http://www.sbs.com.au/films/movie-news/896369/a-royal-affair-nicolaj-arcel-interview
[6]
Stephen Applebaum (2012) ‘Nikolaj Arcel – Writer/Director of A Royal Affair’
accessed 12/06/12 at http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/stephen-applebaum/nikolaj-arcel-interview_b_1568422.html
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