The Girl King

Kristina inherited the throne of Sweden at the age of six when her father dies in the religious wars that gripped Europe in the Seventeenth Century i.e.; fighting Papism. Her father had brought her up as a prince and she was accustomed to manly pursuits. Taken under the wing of Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna played brilliantly by Michael Nyqvist ('100 Code' and 'Europa Report').

She however has a mind of her own and is taken by the new thinking and philosophers of the time like Rene Descartes all of which are rejected by the austere Protestantism that her country has fought for. She also is a bit opposed to marriage and the many courtiers that come 'a wooing' her. Contrastingly she is enamoured with a certain Lady in Waiting and soon is breaking with more than one convention in pursuit of what she really wants.

Now this is a pan European production but is mainly in English with a tad of German and French. The acting is all top notch and the period detail is spot on too. This though is a personal view of the woman rather that a wider view of European politics and so is told on a smaller canvas than I was expecting. That said it is thoroughly watchable and is a noteworthy production – I wish it had been in Swedish though but English is now the Lingua Franca it would appear – so this is one that should appeal to lovers of modern European cinema who like a bit of spice in their lead roles.