Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark, namely a tryst between the Queen and her physician in the superb period piece A Royal Affair. The lavish story dramatizes the true tale of Danish queen Caroline Mathilda, whose marriage to mentally ill King Christian VII eventually pushes her into the arms of royal physician Struensee (a smouldering Mads Mikkelsen). That the two lovebirds share an affection for Enlightenment thought, and can use their newfound political power to help drag Denmark out of the dark ages, is just a bonus to all the smooching. Director Nikolaj Arcel doesn’t hide his characters’ base emotions, filling all the lush scenery of royal excess with lust, envy and rage. Painting its obvious Arthurian love story amidst a static nobility, the film wisely shows how the Age of Reason was dictated by the heart. Easily the sexiest Danish history lesson you’re likely to have at the movies this year.
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2013.