The Girl King

For the 2002 film, see Girl King.
The Girl King
Directed byMika Kaurismäki
Written byMichel Marc Bouchard
Produced byArnie Gelbart
Mika Kaurismäki
StarringMalin Buska
Sarah Gadon
Michael Nyqvist
Lucas Bryant
Patrick Bauchau
CinematographyGuy Dufaux
Edited byHans Funck
Music byAnssi Tikanmäki
Production
companies
Release date
  • 4 September 2015 (2015-09-04) (MWFF)
Running time
106 min
CountriesFinland
Canada
Sweden
Germany
France
LanguagesEnglish
French
German

The Girl King is a 2015 biographical drama about Christina, Queen of Sweden. It was directed by Mika Kaurismäki and written by Michel Marc Bouchard who, after writing the screenplay for the film, wrote his stage play Christine, La Reine-Garçon which enjoyed a successful run in 2012 at Montreal's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and then in English at the Stratford Festival in 2014. The film premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival.[1][2]

Cast

Reception

Critical response

The film has received divided acclaim. At Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 42%, based on 19 reviews and an average rating of 4.81/10.[3] Dana Piccoli at AfterEllen stated: "Anytime we get to see a story about queer women in history is a good thing, and The Girl King is certainly an interesting look at this enigmatic ruler. While I wish it could have been a bit stronger in its delivery, it's still a very watchable film."[4]

Awards

The film won two awards at the Montreal World Film Festival, Best Actress to Malin Buska, and Most Popular Canadian Feature Film to director Mika Kaurismäki. It also won best Best Film at the Valladolid International Film Festival.

References

  1. ^ Kilkenny, Carmel (4 September 2015). "'The Girl King' premieres at the Montreal World Film Festival".
  2. ^ Michel Marc Bouchard, Christine, La Reine-Garçon [2nd edition of the play] (Montreal, 2013). ISBN 9782760904309.
  3. ^ "The Girl King (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  4. ^ ""The Girl King" tells the tale of Sweden's queer Queen Christina and her lady love". AfterEllen. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.