Historical Thriller 'Margrete Queen of the North' Official US Trailer

Table Of Content

• ‘Margrete: Queen of the North’ Review: Trine Dyrholm Plays a Game of Thrones in a Lavish, Stately Historical Drama
• Historical Thriller 'Margrete - Queen of the North' Official US Trailer
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• Personal life
• Trine Dyrholm to star in Charlotte Sieling’s historical epic ‘Margrete – Queen Of The North’
• Live action shorts: Stories of life, death and the quirkiest of in-betweens

At the time he had been seventeen years old, just about to come of age and take over rule of the two kingdoms from his mother, and ever since the queen's enemies have spread dark rumours that she had him murdered in order to retain power herself. Margrete assures Asle that her son is dead, but he insists that he recognises the man as Oluf. This incendiary news quickly spreads, and so Margrete orders Asle to bring the man to Kalmar so that the matter can be put to rest. Meanwhile, Margrete grows suspicious of Raberlin, a German merchant present at the feast, and orders her Swedish retainer Jakob Nilsson to follow him when he returns to Prussia. It was for the bigger cause, our film, and all the actors said yes to being there for five weeks, even if they were shooting for five or nine days, which isn’t normal. You usually go back and forth, but we talked about political issues and shared personal things, and it made a strong impact on all of us who were part of this film.

‘Margrete: Queen of the North’ Review: Trine Dyrholm Plays a Game of Thrones in a Lavish, Stately Historical Drama

By the time "Margrete" gets to its grand finale, what should have made for a shocking and powerful moment will inspire little more than a shrug from most viewers. Aside from the design departments, the craft MVP here is probably DP Rasmus Videbæk, whose magisterial camerawork makes the candlelit interiors feel as imposing as the sweeping landscapes, to the accompaniment of Jon Ekstrand’s elegant, classical score. But the very magnificence of the whole production, from its smorgasbord of Nordic acting talent to its self-conscious lionization of a remarkable woman wielding immense power within an otherwise suffocatingly male environment, also serves a more contemporary agenda. At one point, Margrete rescues a young woman, Astrid (Agnes Westerlund Rase) and pointedly reminds the pirate who captured her that rape is a hanging offense.

Historical Thriller 'Margrete - Queen of the North' Official US Trailer

As an adult I’ve thought about the usefulness of a monarchy in a modern age, if any. But on New Year’s Eve, when the queen reads her annual speech, I am moved. That Margrete I was a uniting force is beyond doubt, but our Margrete II is also someone we can gather around, an important part of our collective identity as Danes and something that tells us who we are.

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On the other hand, Asle Jonsson and the Norwegian councillors are adamant that the Man from Graudenz is Oluf, and the more Margrete speaks to him, the more she starts to wonder if he really is her son. A further element of doubt is introduced when she discovers that none of her councillors saw Oluf's corpse after his supposed death, as they were all too afraid of infection from the plague to open his coffin. In 1402, Margrete summons the leading magnates of the three kingdoms to Kalmar Castle to witness Erik's betrothal to Philippa of England, the daughter of King Henry IV of England. Philippa is accompanied by an English lord, William Bourcier, who has been tasked with negotiating the financial and political terms of the marriage agreement. Margrete is especially keen to establish a strong military alliance with England in order to deter attacks by the Union's German enemies, in particular the Teutonic Order, which rules Prussia and has also recently seized the Swedish island of Gotland. The Union [EU] is filled with political issues, national and personal that people want out of it.

The world is now in total chaos, and we sit in our different countries and we’re nervous about what’s happening, and maybe we’re going back to isolation. We can sit here and talk on zoom, and watch a lot of films on the computer. What we need to do is to communicate, share, reflect and understand what life is about.

Charlotte Sieling Director Interview - PopMatters

Charlotte Sieling Director Interview.

Posted: Thu, 16 Dec 2021 08:00:00 GMT [source]

However, just as Margrete is about to slip out of the castle to rendezvous with Oluf and Asle, Jakob Nilsson arrives to see her, newly returned from his escapade in Prussia. Realising that Scandinavian unity is more important in the face of the Teutonic threat than her personal feelings, Margrete betrays Oluf, who is quickly recaptured by Erik's men. Margrete manages to persuade Erik to spare Asle, but Oluf is publicly burned alive as a traitor in front of his mother.

At first glance, the claim appears to be preposterous—it cannot be mere coincidence that he should turn up just as the all-important wedding is about to commence—and Margrete believes that he's an imposter. However, other people in power are convinced the newcomer is actually who he says he is, threatening to throw both the wedding and the fragile alliance between the countries into doubt. When Margrete learns that no one actually saw Oluf’s body after his alleged death, she's forced to confront the possibility that his story is true. With only a few days before everything that she has worked for collapses around her, Margrete sends off a couple of trusted advisors to look into the story and does some nosing around on her own. Meanwhile, the increasingly frustrated Erik lets power go to his head and finds himself unwittingly being manipulated by a number of people who wish to seize control for themselves. Over the following days, Margrete finds herself faced with a horrible dilemma.

SF Studios is planning to release the film during the third quarter of this year. Dyrholm stars opposite Søren Malling (“The Investigation”), Morten Hee Andersen (“Ride Upon the Storm”), Jakob Oftebro (“Kon-tiki”), Bjørn Floberg (“Out Stealing Horses”), Magnus Krepper (“Queen of Hearts”), and Thomas W. Gabrielsson (“A Royal Affair”). We're looking forward to Cannes and the Muslim International Film Festival. The girl (Nicole Rosney) with the big concerned eyes, dirty face, and crown on her head will become Margrete (Trine Dyrholm), creator of the Kalmar Union, which lasted for 126 years and braided together Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in unprecedented peace.

Without comparing ourselves to Shakespeare, we chose the theme and set it across nine days – it’s not a biopic of Margrete’s whole life. We chose that way of telling her story because we thought this is the real drama. How can the king keep his kingdom, and what does he have to pay for holding onto power? Fortunately in our world, it was a woman, and we could tell her true story. When you talk about age, we can also talk about culture and differences.

While the plot is at times overstuffed with palace intrigues, this piercing character study carries a contemporary poignancy, as it encapsulates the difficult choices a female leader has to make in a world bounded by patriarchal control. Unlike, for example, Game of Thrones, this story has very real and accurate historical locations. How does one go about in getting this part as right as possible, some six centuries later?

Queen Margrete (Trine Dyrholm) has achieved what no man has managed before. She has gathered Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a peace-oriented union, which she single-handedly rules through her young, adopted son, Erik. The union is beset by enemies, however, and Margrete is therefore planning a marriage between Erik and an English princess. An alliance with England should secure the union's status as an emerging European power but a breathtaking conspiracy is under way that can tear Margrete and all she believes in apart. Margrete - Queen of the North, also known as Margrete den første in Danish, is directed by Danish filmmaker Charlotte Sieling, director of the films Above the Street Below the Water and The Man previously, plus eps of "The Strain", "Queen of the South", "Homeland", "Lovecraft Country". The screenplay is written by Jesper Fink & Maya Ilsøe & Charlotte Sieling, from an idea by Lars Bredo Rahbek.

This first premiered at the Norwegian Film Festival, and opened in Denmark in September. Goldwyn Films releases Margrete - Queen of the North direct-to-VOD in the US on December 17th, 2021. Much of this emotional tug-of-war is played out in atmospherically lit indoor compositions, which evoke a painterly, classical feel. What elevates the film from a run-of-the-mill period drama is Trine Dyrholm’s masterfully understated performance as the tormented queen. Her Margrete has no need to shout and weep to convey her turmoil; a mere gaze is enough to articulate the dilemma of having to put collective needs over personal desires.

Forty years later, and Margrete, now queen, has successfully united Denmark, Norway and Sweden under her rule, thereby founding the Kalmar Union and bringing a decade of peace to a region hitherto wracked by constant warfare. It was one of the largest productions in the history of Danish cinema, enjoying the largest budget ever for a Danish-language feature film.[4][5] It premiered on 16 September 2021. As we age, the emotions a character experiences, such as pain, joy, hope, and despair resonate more strongly with us. Whereas to our younger selves, these were simply dramatic concepts. This makes the experience of watching films uncomfortable because we sense and identify with realism. But her reign also saw a bizarre mystery in the Scandinavian region, which forms the emotional beating heart of this stately film.

“Margrete - Queen Of The North is a page-turner of a script and a truly grand ambition which has generated record-breaking grants from financiers,” said Skov and Rahbek, producers at SF Studios Denmark. Nevertheless, Charlotte also started directing TV on DR. She was invited to Rejseholdet, where she stayed and made episodes for two years, and there she became a self-taught director for the next 12 years. The film ends with a brief text stating that the Kalmar Union lasted for a further century after Margrete's death, and claiming that the close affinity that exists to this day between the three Scandinavian nations is in large part thanks to her.

We’d go out to buy takeaway and then go back to the basement of the hotel where we were allowed to eat together, and it made it special. I agree with your thought that it’s a place we need to go, to be there together and build a strong spirit, so we can be strong spiritual people. Otherwise, it’ll be two dimensional and that’s very sad. But the queen’s gambit is derailed with the arrival of a man (Jakob Oftebro) claiming to be her biological son, Olaf, believed to have died 15 years earlier. Margrete (masterfully portrayed by Trine Dyrholm), who reigned from the late 1380s until her death in 1412, was known as a wise and just leader who pulled off what her male counterparts couldn’t — the establishment of a long-lasting peaceful alliance between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Man from Graudenz is brought to Kalmar and publicly interrogated by Margrete. He repeats his claim that he is King Oluf, and explains that in 1387 one of his retainers was ordered to kill him by persons unknown. The assassin could not bring himself to go through with the deed, and so instead kidnapped him and took him to Prussia, where he has been held captive by the Teutonic Order for the last fifteen years. A few weeks ago, he was suddenly released without explanation, and he has subsequently made his way back to Scandinavia to reclaim his rightful inheritance. The Danish & Swedish councillors are sceptical of this story, but their Norwegian counterparts are more willing to believe it (as Oluf's father was the previous Norwegian king, Håkon VI), and several of them, like Asle, claim to recognise the Man from Graudenz as Oluf. Margrete orders him to be confined to the dungeons while she decides what to do with him.