Margrete: Reine du Nord

"Margrete the First" (2021)

'Margrete the First' is the epitome of an epic Danish tale. With monarchs, battle strife, magnificent costumes and big politics. All in all, a magnificent staging that is impressive. The acting was gripping, here one must especially highlight Trine Dyrholm's interpretation of Margrete 1. However, some of the lines could at times seem a bit too theatrical and fake. Morten Hee Andersen's role as the naive and arrogant Prince Erik of Pomerania, unfortunately, fell flat on its face for me. It seemed as if he was in a different universe than the rest of the characters, whether it was Morten's portrayal or the manuscript is hard to know.

With a feature length of 2 hours, it is always a challenge to keep the viewers' attention, here Margrete the 1st unfortunately does not succeed either. A strong start and end, does not excuse for a drawn out and unfocused mid point. Especially one storyline that I do not want to spoil, did not lead to much and ended abruptly. It could quickly have been explained with a scene or two. The worst thing a movie can do is waste the audience time.

I personally watch movies to be entertained with an exciting and gripping story. The story was fascinating, the production magnificent and the acting was mostly excellent. I missed a more focused narrative, with fewer plotlines, better pacing, and less navel-gazing. The story as it is portrayed here would have worked better as a new Sunday drama series.

Rating: 6/10.

When i came across that movie i knew that i must see it. As a huge fan of historic movies, my expectations were high ,however, the movie itself let me quite disappointed. The storytelling is good although i found myself bored and sometimes instead of watching i checked my mobile phone. In my opinion the other characters deserved more space in order to better describe their backgrounds as well as intentions. I could recommend the movie to everyone who is interested in history or good drama.

Its a pitty, that this history is so boring. Over 120 minuts of flat acting and slow theatrical interpretations, sometimes like fake ones. "Margrete" follows one storyline with dedicated, occasionally leaden fidelity, proceeding at a pace that might be appropriate in a 20-hour season of television, but that feels unusually indulgent in a feature film. It has almost everything one expects from these proposals: intrigue, family conflicts, sex, violence, jealousy, betrayal, etc. What it does not have is a clear meaning or purpose. Spectacular ambiance, cinematography, arts, etc. Historical and political heft to justify the epic scope of the filmmaking.

It's quite interesting: the main actress of this made a movie called Queen - at least in Germany - a few years ahead of this. But the other movie was contemporary. This is clearly a period piece - that said, it is not less dramatic than the other one she is starring in. Different for sure - quite different to be honest.

In this she has a lot more responsibility - if she behaved like she does in the other movie ... let's leave that aside though. Ruling is not easy - so many people to please, so many people that want what you have. So many powers to juggle - especially if you want to avoid war ... and try to stay ahead of enemies within your own ranks.

A very fine movie, with very fine actors. If you don't mind reading subtitles this is recommended for sure.

Karmar Union of Norway, Sweden (included Finland) & Denmark headed by Queen Margrete (Margaret) of Denmark (ruled from 1380s until 1412). Wary of Germany an English royalty daughter, Philippa (age about 12), in 1406 is married to King Erik (adopted son of Margrete) to provide an alliance with England. Margrete's birth son, Olaf, is the main mystery when he shows up after 15 years, after supposedly dying, to claim the throne. A good job of cramming a lot of potentially confusing history into 2 hours.