SYNOPSIS

The Girl King is the story of Sweden’s Queen Kristina, an enigmatic young woman who defied convention, challenged tradition and changed the course of history. Torn between reason and passion; between her female body and being raised as a prince; between the ancient and modern worlds and between the brilliance of her educated mind and the terror of the emotions she could not understand.

Program Note

17th century Europe is in complete disarray
 and disorder after the Thirty Years’ War between the Catholic and Protestant
 states. During this war, the King of Sweden, Gustavus ADOLPHUS, dies. After the
 king’s death, a struggle for power takes place, and the only lawful heir that
 can succeed to the throne is the king’s young daughter, Kristina. Having acted
 on her father’s wishes by receiving the royal education of a prince, just as
 any other heir would, Kristina ascends to the throne, not as ‘Queen,’ but as a
 ‘Girl King.’ Rather than leading Sweden into another war and turmoil through
 strict Lutheranism, the bright and prudent Kristina advocates for
 reconciliation with the Catholic states, using peace and understanding. As an
 individual who loves science and philosophy, she befriends Rene Descartes and
 discusses with him the human emotions, and invites Descartes to Stockholm as
 her personal advisor and tutor. Under the constant oppression and suspicion of
 the Council and her advisors regarding her sexuality, and her refusal to marry,
 she leaves the throne at age 27 and travels to Rome, the holy land of science
 and the arts, and the center of the Renaissance. She converts to Catholicism,
 establishes the Academy of Arcadia, which soon becomes the heart of the Royal
 Academy of Rome, and sponsors philosophers, artists, and poets. Today, Kristina
 is one of only three women of the Victorian age to ever be buried together with
 the Pope. The biographers of Kristina all describe her as a lesbian, and this
 film also focuses on Kristina’s unfortunate love story with Ebba SPPARRE(nicknamed
 Bell). Kristina’s life leads us to raise a question on gender. Is her identity
 and sexual orientation something she is born with, or something that is
 nurtured by men? This film is worth comparing with Rouben MAMOULIAN’s 1933 film
 ///Queen Christina//, one of the major works of the actress Greta GARBO, who
 plays the role of Queen Christina (Kristina). The spectacular film portrays the
 delicate facial expressions and charisma as part of the androgynous charm of
 Greta GARBO, who is portrayed as a lesbian, whereas the narrative itself wraps
 up the story by depicting a heterosexual love. [SIM Hye-kyong]