The Girl King Review

The period drama The Girl King, directed by Mika Kaurismäki, is an intriguing concept. It tells the story of the young tomboy Kristina who inherits Sweden upon her father's death in the 1600s. As queen, she pushes for change, threatening everything the country has been working toward until then. As a woman, she refuses all proposals for personal as well as political reasons. She knows that as soon as she is wed her power will transfer to her husband and her plans for the country will unravel. Kristina also finds herself infatuated with an engaged countess. Unsurprisingly, she is met with opposition for her ideals of knowledge and peace and her refusal to produce an heir. What the plot boils down to is Kristina's obsession with control.

According to Trystan L. Bass on frockflicks, the film is biographical and presents a better historical depiction of Queen Christina's life than the 1933 film titled Queen Christina. That said, I did not know this before writing this review. Therefore, it is entirely focused on the story aspect of the film.

Lost Potential

The things I found most intriguing about The Girl King are what fell short for me. For one thing, the title itself is false advertising. Though the film begins when Kristina is six years old, she is a mature young woman for the majority of the film. She is also crowned as Queen of Sweden (not king) and is treated as a woman regardless of her advisor mentioning that she was raised like a boy.

I was hoping for a story about a woman forced into the role of a man or even a trans man embracing his inner self as king. Instead, Kristina is a masculine Queen presented as a lesbian. Perhaps there is supposed to be some trans undertones, since late in the film, during a discussion between her advisor and her cousin, one of them mentions that it is not surprising she would look toward women after being raised as a man. Yet, Kristina herself never says anything on the matter either way.

The most interesting part of the plot for me was Kristina's obsession with knowledge. She plans to end the war so that she can educate the people whether they want it or not. She continues to interact with a Catholic when she represents the country's Protestantism. There is a disconnect between what she wants for the country and what the country itself wants. One scene emphasizes this in particular when she tries to give an eloquent speech only to have her advisor cut her off by telling the people they will receive free beer which results in rambunctious applause.

However, this plot point gets buried by Kristina's flowering affair with Ebba. Although she is more knowledgeable than anyone in the film (besides perhaps Descartes), as soon as she begins the affair, almost all of her opposition has to do with marriage. There has been time enough for rumors to spread about her religious failings or masculinity, yet the only one spoken of has to do with her lesbianism.

One scene in particular pushes her relationship with Ebba into the forefront. Kristina gains possession of what she calls the Devil's Bible and inspects it with an eerie curiosity while Ebba becomes noticeably frightened. The atmosphere is charged by their polarities in that moment, yet Kristina cuts it abruptly short by her lust. On one hand, the scene makes sense since Kristina is just as curious to know Ebba as she is the Devil, yet it leaves this polarity between them hanging. The director seems to say that their sexual tension is more important than the danger Ebba feels during the scene.

Even Ebba's role is lost potential. We never truly know what she is thinking and feeling. Yes, she seems happy and sad at times, but what is it she truly wants? How much of their relationship is due to her devotion to the crown? In the end, Ebba never had a choice in the film.

Lastly, Kristina's reign pushes for change from all sides but leaves Sweden just as it was. The Girl King could have been a film about the people realizing knowledge is good, that women are worth more than childbearing, or even that peace is positive. Instead, it is simply about one woman's selfishness.

Kristina's Selfishness

The story of the Queen struggling to maintain her power is not a new one. Yet, she is usually treated like a pawn and we are made to empathize with her predicament. In this case, we witness Kristina's selfishness. While it is definitely unfair that she will lose power once she is wed, it is still her duty to do so. As queen, it is her duty to look out for the well-being of the nation, yet Kristina seems to care little about this. Her focus lies entirely on prioritizing the access to knowledge that no one besides herself asks for. She goes so far as sending her own people to foreign countries when they disagree with her to get them out of her hair and breaking off promises to those countries when they inconvenience her. Her reign is nothing if not abuse of her power.

Even when it comes to Ebba, their relationship begins through her position. She makes Ebba her lady in waiting before ordering her to become her "bed companion." This in itself is not terrible given that Ebba seems content enough in her role, yet at one point Kristina reminds her quite strongly of her rank above her. There is no question in this scene that what Kristina feels for Ebba is not love but ownership.Perhaps her feelings grow into something more later on, but till the end her selfishness takes precedence in relationship. What Ebba wants never really matters.

Then we come to the film's ending. Obvious spoilers. Kristina intentionally plays with her cousin's emotions by telling him that she will make him her king. This wording implies marriage when in fact she adopts him as her son making him the next in line for the throne. She then abandons the throne entirely. If this is not selfish, then I do not know what is.

Verdict

The Girl King makes you contemplate about knowledge, religion, and the power structure if nothing else. Most likely, it will leave you wanting more than you got. You may even leave disliking Kristina as I did. Still, I cannot say I disliked the film. I like Kristina's cousin, Descartes, and Ebba as minimal as their characterizations are. The acting was nice, especially Malin Buska's depiction of Kristina (from her enchanting accent to her unyielding gazes). But as I said, the story held far greater potential than it achieved.

Story: 6/10

Characters: 6/10

Acting: 8/10

Overall: 7/10