MARGRETE: QUEEN OF THE NORTH
****
Director: Charlotte Sieling
Screenplay: Charlotte Sieling, Jasper Fink & Maya Ilsøe, from an idea by Lars Bredo Rahbek.
Principal cast:
Trine Dyrholm
Søren Malling
Morten Hee Andersen
Jakob Oftebro
Bjørn Floberg
Magnus Krepper
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Czech Republic and Poland
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 120 mins.
Australian release date: 24 November 2022.
Margrete: Queen of the North is a Scandinavian saga worthy of Shakespeare - it involves court intrigues, betrayals, treachery and sacrifice, and draws on historical events for its inspiration. It is also the most expensive film ever produced in Denmark and it shows: the sets and costumes look authentic and are sumptuous, the locations are ruggedly beautiful and it features the cream of Scandinavian acting talent. Danes Trine Dyrholm and Søren Malling, Norwegians Jakob Oftebro and Bjørn Floberg, and Swedes Magnus Krepper and Simon J. Berger, among others, would be familiar to anyone who has watched any Scandi noir series on TV or attended the Scandinavian Film Festival in recent years. In fact, Margrete: Queen of the North opened this year’s festival in July.
Beginning in 1361 on Gotland Island at the culmination of the Battle of Visby, we see Princess Margrete as a wide-eyed child witnessing the carnage on the battlefield, something which had a profound effect on her and must have galvanised her desire to be a peacemaker once she ascended the throne. The action then jumps forward to 1402, when Queen Margrete I (Trine Dyrholm) has successfully united Denmark, Sweden and Norway in a peaceful, albeit fragile, alignment known as the Kalmar Union. Their territories are under threat from Germany, however, so Margrete is endeavouring to arrange a marriage between her adopted son, Erik of Pomerania (Morten Hee Andersen), and Philippa (Diana Martinová), the daughter of King Henry IV, to secure a military alliance with England. While negotiations with the English lord, William Bourcier (Paul Blackthorne) are continuing, word reaches the queen that a Man from Graudenz (Jakob Oftebro) is claiming to be her long-dead son Oluf. Rumours about the Man are spreading and causing unrest amongst the members of the union, so Margrete has no option but to have him brought to her so she can decide for herself whether or not he is an imposter. This puts her in a terrible position - recognising the Man as Oluf will delegitimise Erik’s role as king, unsettling the Danes and the Swedes, but choosing Erik while the Man insists that he is the true king, supported by the Norwegians, will also threaten the Kalmar Union. Before she can make her fateful decision, though, she must ascertain the facts about Oluf’s death and disappearance 15 years earlier.
Like I said, Shakespearean. Everyone is plotting and scheming behind everyone else’s back in this convoluted tale, especially the queen and her trusted advisor the Bishop of Roskilde, Peder Jensen Lodehat (Søren Malling). Dyrholm is magnificent in the lead role, her face revealing the pain of Margrete’s dilemma; there are no histrionics here, her performance is a masterclass in understatement while clearly letting the audience know her character’s innermost doubts and suspicions. She is surrounded by an excellent cast of supporting characters, especially the ever-reliable Søren Malling, who viewers will recognise from Borgen and many other Danish films and series. Sieling has brought all the elements of this wide-ranging, epic story together successfully, working from a script that always keeps us in the loop even while its multifarious threads are weaving diversions and plots throughout the Nordic territories. Margrete: Queen of the North is a lavish, visual treat for the eyes and the mind.
Screenplay: Charlotte Sieling, Jasper Fink & Maya Ilsøe, from an idea by Lars Bredo Rahbek.
Principal cast:
Trine Dyrholm
Søren Malling
Morten Hee Andersen
Jakob Oftebro
Bjørn Floberg
Magnus Krepper
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Czech Republic and Poland
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 120 mins.
Australian release date: 24 November 2022.
Margrete: Queen of the North is a Scandinavian saga worthy of Shakespeare - it involves court intrigues, betrayals, treachery and sacrifice, and draws on historical events for its inspiration. It is also the most expensive film ever produced in Denmark and it shows: the sets and costumes look authentic and are sumptuous, the locations are ruggedly beautiful and it features the cream of Scandinavian acting talent. Danes Trine Dyrholm and Søren Malling, Norwegians Jakob Oftebro and Bjørn Floberg, and Swedes Magnus Krepper and Simon J. Berger, among others, would be familiar to anyone who has watched any Scandi noir series on TV or attended the Scandinavian Film Festival in recent years. In fact, Margrete: Queen of the North opened this year’s festival in July.
Beginning in 1361 on Gotland Island at the culmination of the Battle of Visby, we see Princess Margrete as a wide-eyed child witnessing the carnage on the battlefield, something which had a profound effect on her and must have galvanised her desire to be a peacemaker once she ascended the throne. The action then jumps forward to 1402, when Queen Margrete I (Trine Dyrholm) has successfully united Denmark, Sweden and Norway in a peaceful, albeit fragile, alignment known as the Kalmar Union. Their territories are under threat from Germany, however, so Margrete is endeavouring to arrange a marriage between her adopted son, Erik of Pomerania (Morten Hee Andersen), and Philippa (Diana Martinová), the daughter of King Henry IV, to secure a military alliance with England. While negotiations with the English lord, William Bourcier (Paul Blackthorne) are continuing, word reaches the queen that a Man from Graudenz (Jakob Oftebro) is claiming to be her long-dead son Oluf. Rumours about the Man are spreading and causing unrest amongst the members of the union, so Margrete has no option but to have him brought to her so she can decide for herself whether or not he is an imposter. This puts her in a terrible position - recognising the Man as Oluf will delegitimise Erik’s role as king, unsettling the Danes and the Swedes, but choosing Erik while the Man insists that he is the true king, supported by the Norwegians, will also threaten the Kalmar Union. Before she can make her fateful decision, though, she must ascertain the facts about Oluf’s death and disappearance 15 years earlier.
Like I said, Shakespearean. Everyone is plotting and scheming behind everyone else’s back in this convoluted tale, especially the queen and her trusted advisor the Bishop of Roskilde, Peder Jensen Lodehat (Søren Malling). Dyrholm is magnificent in the lead role, her face revealing the pain of Margrete’s dilemma; there are no histrionics here, her performance is a masterclass in understatement while clearly letting the audience know her character’s innermost doubts and suspicions. She is surrounded by an excellent cast of supporting characters, especially the ever-reliable Søren Malling, who viewers will recognise from Borgen and many other Danish films and series. Sieling has brought all the elements of this wide-ranging, epic story together successfully, working from a script that always keeps us in the loop even while its multifarious threads are weaving diversions and plots throughout the Nordic territories. Margrete: Queen of the North is a lavish, visual treat for the eyes and the mind.