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‘Queen Marie’ Review: Border Talks

Alexis Sweet Cahill’s biopic about the Romanian queen is weighed down by stodgy exposition.

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By Ben Kenigsberg

Romania has delivered some of the most bracing filmmaking of the past 20 years ( “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu,” “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” ), but “Queen Marie” shows that its cinematic output also extends to stiff, exposition-clotted biopics.

Directed by the Italian filmmaker Alexis Sweet Cahill, the movie recounts how the country’s queen, Marie (Roxana Lupu), a British-born granddaughter of Queen Victoria, pressed for a greater Romania — incorporating Transylvania, among other regions — during the postwar peace talks in Paris in 1919.

Exactly what harm President Woodrow Wilson (Patrick Drury), Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France (Ronald Chenery) and Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Britain (Richard Elfyn) saw in expanding Romania’s borders is never precisely clear from this screenplay. But geopolitical details are not high on the priority list of any movie in which King George V (Nicholas Boulton), in London, informs the Romanian queen, his cousin, of the limits of his power: “There’s very little I can do. We’re a constitutional monarchy, just like yours.”

Surely Queen Marie — shown as a smart, savvy strategist — already knows that. But where the Romanian prime minister (Adrian Titieni) has failed, Marie will step in to make the case, and secure aid for her country, despite the fact that she is presumed to play a limited role in politics and faces skepticism because of her gender and diplomatic inexperience. In this telling, her success was mainly a matter of securing meetings with high-handed world leaders and disarming them. Negotiations are rarely so simplistic.

Queen Marie Not rated. In English, Romanian, French and German, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes. Rent or buy on Google Play , FandangoNow and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.

‘Queen Marie’ Review: A Well-Dressed but Deadly Dull Historical Primer on Romania’s Last Queen

Alexis Sweet Cahill's stuffy biopic finds a feminist angle on the Romanian monarch's role in the post-WWI Parisian peace talks, but it's not exactly rousing.

By Guy Lodge

Film Critic

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On an official visit to lobby for international support of her beleaguered country amid the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Queen Marie of Romania expresses her frustration that the press coverage is focused not on her efforts at diplomacy, but her extravagant wardrobe and packed social diary. “I suppose if I wish to be heard, I must first allow myself to be seen,” she sighs. Alexis Sweet Cahill ‘s carefully ironed biopic “Queen Marie” fancies itself a corrective to such misogyny, offering the British-born monarch belated recognition of her contributions towards the eventual unification of Romania.

So why does the film still feel, as it drifts glacially by over the better part of two hours, like a record of the fabulous things she wore, and the famous people she met, on this tour? “Queen Marie” is dutiful in noting its subject’s accomplishments, but strangely negligent of her personality: Played with exacting decorum but little mirth or fervor by Roxana Lupu , she’s never quite a character, but a critical figure in a well-constructed historical diorama. Cahill’s film is something of an oddity from a country best known cinematically for the fresh, furious sociopolitical currency of its 21st-century “new wave.” If nothing else, “Queen Marie” proves that the Romanian industry can churn out stodgy, attractively decorated Europuddings with the best of them, but it’s hard to see who the audience for this multilingual snoozer might be.

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Things start unprepossessingly, with newsreel footage under robotic narration, detailing the turbulent plight of Romania in the First World War — during which time the country’s royal family was forced to take refuge in Moldavia, where the Queen and her daughters labored as military nurses. If this sounds like rather good fodder for a movie, “Queen Marie” is insistent that the real drama was yet to come, introducing the family in strained but slightly less panicked times: The war is over, Romania has united with Transylvania and other neighboring regions, and the campaign for international aid for the larger nation can begin in earnest.

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The obstacles, as presented in a labored, exposition-clogged screenplay, neatly take the form of three major powers. U.S. president Woodrow Wilson (Patrick Drury), French prime minister Georges Clemenceau (Ronald Chenery) and British prime minister David Lloyd George (Richard Elfyn) are presented as united in their skepticism of the new, improved Romania. The Romanian counterpart, prime minister Ion Bratianu, has failed to get through to them: Time, then, for a royal intervention, as the doughty Marie resolves to represent her country at the upcoming Paris peace talks, and secure an audience with these fusty male gatekeepers.

This feminist framing of the narrative lends a clear storytelling hook to a pretty dry chapter of history, though it elides a few political complexities — not least among them some governmental discord over sending the country’s Queen to do a politician’s job. “Royalties don’t meddle in politics, they are separate businesses,” Marie is told. The script invites us to share her consternation at this sentiment, though any republican-minded members of the audience would be hard-pressed to disagree. But meddle she does, across a procession of highly starched official appointments that, from a dramatic perspective, rather blur into one.

They do, however, afford a generous showcase to Norma Demitrescu and Laura Russu’s lavish production design, to say nothing of the dazzling array of feathered hats, baroquely patterned shawls and pearls rustled up by costume designers Claudia Bunea and Ana Ioneci. Yet the spectacle only goes so far when the writing — often hopping randomly and inelegantly between accented English and Romanian — is this stiff. This is the kind of historical drama where characters have a habit of speaking in helpful factual parentheticals (“She’s nothing like her grandmother, Queen Victoria”) or unconvincing pomposities (“And now the whole future of greater Romania is at stake!”), rarely saying anything that isn’t immediately and clunkily on-topic.

Sporadic distractions from Marie’s Parisian machinations come in the form of updates on her domestic tensions with husband King Ferdinand (Daniel Plier), fretfully and ineffectively waiting in Bucharest, and their rebellious adult sons. None of this is especially fascinating either, given that the script affords these men even less inner life than it does Marie, while their wardrobe is rather less exciting. Most viewers are likely to leave “Queen Marie” knowing more about the eponymous monarch than they did before, but with precious little inclination to learn much more.

Reviewed online, London, May 6, 2021. Running time: 110 MIN. (Original title: "Queen Marie of Romania")

• Production: (Romania) A Samuel Goldwyn Films release of an Abis Studio presentation. Producers: Gabi Antal, Radu Apostolescu. Executive producer: Costin Rantes.
• Crew: Director: Alexis Sweet Cahill. Screenplay: Brigitte Rodtloff, Maria-Denise Theodoru. Camera: Gabriel Cosuth. Editor: Theodora Penciu. Music: Giancarlo Russo.
• With: Roxana Lupu, Daniel Plier, Patrick Drury, Ronald Chenery, Adrian Titieni, Anghel Damian, Richard Elfyn, Caroline Loncq. (English, Romanian, French, German dialogue)

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Stage and Cinema

Arts and Entertainment Reviews

Film Review: QUEEN MARIE (directed by Alexis Sweet Cahill)

by Vaughan Edwards on April 12, 2021

QUEEN MARIE

“ Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, a medley of extemporanea, And love is a thing that can never go wrong, and I am Marie of Romania. ”

Until today pretty much all I knew about Marie of Romania was contained in the above quatrain by Dorothy Parker. What little impression I had was of a slightly preposterous figure out of Ruritanian operetta. Queen Marie sets the record straight in no uncertain terms.

Princess Marie of Edinburgh was born in 1875, one of Queen Victoria’s countless grand daughters. At the age of seventeen she was coerced into a dynastic marriage with Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania. As a good royal and a good Victorian, Marie had a highly developed sense of duty and became a passionate champion of her adopted country. This passion is at the heart of Queen Marie.

The story begins at the end of WWI. Initially neutral, Romania is invaded by Germany in 1916 and enters the war on the side of Britain and France. As one of the victorious allied nations, Romania earns a place in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Negotiations break down between Romanian Prime Minister Bratianu and French Prime Minister Clemenceau and Marie, against the advice of her own ministers, decides to represent Romania herself.

Her arrival in Paris causes a sensation; not only is she the only female delegate at the conference, but as queen of an Eastern European nation she radiates an exotic aura. Unlike most royal figures, even today’s, Marie understands the power of publicity and her carefully crafted image of mother and savior of Romania is eagerly embraced by the press.

Needless to say, the delegates at the peace talks, led by President Woodrow Wilson, are highly suspicious of Marie’s popularity, seeing her as a distraction from the serious work of carving up Europe for the post-war world. Nevertheless, she proves a shrewd negotiator in encounters with Wilson, Clemenceau and Britain’s prime minister Lloyd George. By the time the conference is over, Marie has gained official recognition and aid for her beleaguered Romania and she returns to Bucharest in triumph.

Possibly aware that I’m not alone in my ignorance of this subject-matter, director Alexis Sweet Cahill opens his film with a crash course in Balkan politics. Newsreel footage of battle scenes dissolves into dramatic action, color seeping in as Romania’s precarious position in postwar Europe is established. This documentary approach gives historical context to a story that unfolds in an unfamiliar time and place.

Romanian actress Roxana Lupu is outstanding as Marie, embodying the magnetism and authority the real Marie must surely have possessed. Playing much of the role in English, her slight, very attractive accent is not inappropriate; although Marie was born and raised in England, her mother was Russian and many of the British royal family of her youth, notably George V’s Queen Mary, had German accents. Inevitably, Lupu dominates the film, but there is excellent work from a large supporting cast of Romanian, British and American actors. Daniel Plier makes for a kingly King Ferdinand and is touching in his rather formulaic scenes alone with Marie, and Anghel Damian is wonderfully sinister as the envious Prince Carol. Among the conference participants Richard Elfyn stands out as Lloyd George, reluctantly won over by Marie’s charm and diplomatic skills.

Production values are high (art direction by Nora Dumitrescu and Russu Laura). A Romania of dark political enclaves and fairy-tale castles is beautifully evoked in Gabriel Kosuth’s cinematography, and when the story moves to Paris we are treated to as many gilded ballrooms, hotel suites and audience chambers as the subject demands. In one spectacular exterior scene Paris’s Place Vendome is filled with 1919 vehicles and extras for Marie’s arrival – at the Ritz of course!

Costume-wise, Claudia Bunea and Ana Ioneci provide all the uniforms, ball gowns and peasant rags one would expect, though given the real Marie’s reputation as a clothes horse, some of movie Marie’s wardrobe choices look a trifle haphazard, especially in the millinery department. And speaking of hats, wouldn’t prime minister Clemenceau have removed his while saying goodbye to Marie at Gare de Lyon?

If Cahill and co-writers Brigitte Drodtloff, Ioana Manea, and Maria-Denise Teodoru are occasionally pedantic in their dutiful recounting of historic events, it’s one of the pitfalls of the genre. Given the current fascination with all things royal, however, Queen Marie will no doubt find a receptive audience. Marie’s work at the Peace Conference was unquestionably her greatest political triumph, but subsequent events in her life were sufficiently colorful to warrant a possible sequel. The subject matter here may be less relatable to an American audience than, say, The Crown , but it’s an absorbing portrait of a remarkable woman.

photos courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films

Queen Marie Abis Studio Production | Samuel Goldwyn Films 106 minutes | 2019 | English/Romanian/German on-demand and digital on May 7, 2021

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Queen Marie Reviews

Queen Marie may not be a modern historical classic, but its wink-of-the-eye moments subtly inform the audience about the filmmakers intent. That, I can appreciate.

Full Review | Feb 18, 2022

The weight of the film is on Rosana Lupu and she does it well.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 21, 2021

Queen Marie proves to be a decent enough entry point into the woman at this particular moment in her life.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 13, 2021

Based on a true story, I am guessing that the actual story is more interesting than the way it is presented in this film.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 12, 2021

Queen Marie is an intriguing portrait of a determined woman struggling to hold both her family and her country together.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | May 11, 2021

Unfortunately, the execution of this project lacks the required amount of grace to tackle such an important topic.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | May 9, 2021

While its subject's courage is easy to embrace, the deliberately paced film maintains a frustrating emotional distance.

Full Review | May 8, 2021

While lavish historical dramas laden with European accents are increasingly out of vogue with moviegoers, Queen Marie isn't without its charms-including its fittingly regal lead.

Oh well, a missed opportunity. As rudimentary as it is decorous. Queen Marie over-explains, under-dramatizes and generally fails to catch fire.

Whether you're obsessed or repulsed by royalty, [Roxana Lupu's] performance will leave you in awe of the power of the crown when it is wielded by the right woman.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 7, 2021

A surprisingly complex look at one of the pivotal figures in 20th century Romanian history.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 7, 2021

It's an uninspired movie about an inspiring historical figure.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | May 7, 2021

It's a complex story told simply, that pings the intense misogyny of the times, but celebrates Marie's early feminism and bravery, and tireless efforts on behalf of a country not her own.

Full Review | May 7, 2021

If nothing else, "Queen Marie" proves that the Romanian industry can churn out stodgy, attractively decorated Europuddings with the best of them, but it's hard to see who the audience for this multilingual snoozer might be.

Romania has delivered some of the most bracing filmmaking of the past 20 years... but "Queen Marie" shows that its cinematic output also extends to stiff, exposition-clotted biopics.

Full Review | May 6, 2021

This is a movie! Roxanna Lupo gives a performance for the ages. From what I know you can take most of this to the bank which is unusual for a biopic.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Apr 30, 2021

QUEEN MARIE: A Slightly Dented Crown

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A granddaughter of Queen Victoria who was fated from birth to rule somewhere, Marie of Romania ended up many miles from her British homeland when she was chosen as the future wife of Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania. When he ascended to the throne, she became queen and a beloved figure in her adopted homeland. Never one to sit quietly at home, she spent World War I working in a military hospital as a nurse before venturing to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 to lobby for post-war recognition of an enlarged Romanian state.

Queen of Hearts

From the moment we first meet Queen Marie ( Roxana Lupu ), it’s clear she cares deeply for the Romanian people. Despite warnings that it’s not safe for her royal personage, she accompanies vans of much-needed supplies to the outskirts of the country, where repeated border skirmishes mean that for them, the war has still not ended. Romania is in desperate need of not only more aid for its people, but also recognition of its newly enlarged borders; if international leaders agree to officially recognize a united Greater Romania, the country may finally find peace.

However, Romanian Prime Minister Brătianu ( Adrian Titieni ) is not having much luck convincing men like French Prime Minister Clemenceau, UK Prime Minister Lloyd George, and U.S. President Wilson that the problems in his small country are worthy of their attention. It’s suggested that Queen Marie—already a popular figure at home and abroad, not to mention fluent in English—travel to Paris with her daughters to try a different, softer form of diplomacy. Many of the men in the Romanian government object to sending the queen on what they presume to be a fool’s errand, none more so than her eldest son, Prince Carol II ( Anghel Damian ), who resents his mother for trying to end his affair with an unsuitable woman. But in the end, Marie’s desire to do her bit wins out.

Heavy Lays the Head

I knew next to nothing about Queen Marie before watching this film; in fact, that was the main reason why I wanted to watch it! It seems like certain royals, such as Elizabeth I and Marie’s grandmother, Victoria, get new movies made about their lives nearly every year, to the point that one feels like one knows everything there is to know about them, but a quick bit of research into Marie and her reputation as a strong, intelligent ruler made me want to know more about her. And while Queen Marie isn’t exactly a deep dive into the life of its subject, hyper-focused as it is on one very specific period in her life, it did open my eyes quite a bit.

When one hasn’t left a small apartment in quite some time, the grand European palaces and promenades of a film like Queen Marie are extra enticing. The film is gorgeously pieced together, from Nora Dumitrescu and Laura Russu’s ornate art direction to Claudia Bunea and Ana Ioneci’s swoon-worthy costumes. (I especially enjoyed living vicariously through the scene in which a dressmaker arrives in Paris to provide Marie and her daughters with new, stylish gowns to replace their more old-fashioned wartime wear.) However, I did laugh quite a bit at the way almost every man of a certain age was sporting the exact same mustache, to the point that it was hard to tell the men apart; it didn’t help that most of those mustaches looked like they were about to come unglued from the actors’ faces.

The biggest issue in Queen Marie is the incredibly heavy-handed script, co-written by Cahill with Brigitte Drodtloff and Maria-Denise Teodoru . The story itself is fascinating if you have even a passing interest in history and the women who helped create it. But the film too often tells, rather than shows, us why someone or something is important, right down to using newsreel-style footage and voiceover narration to begin and end the story. While this may be designed to serve audience members like myself who are unfamiliar with Queen Marie’s story, it ends up feeling like a university lecture. The weakness of the dialogue is only further emphasized when it is in English, as several members of the European cast struggle to make it sound believable when not acting in their native tongues. While one imagines that the complex international relations portrayed in the film probably did involve many of the central figures speaking English as a common language, that devotion to accuracy doesn’t do anyone any favors here.

However, one must make an exception for Lupu , a UK-based Romanian actress who speaks English well and with a dash of the prim British accent that one imagines Queen Marie may have had. Despite being saddled with many repetitive monologues in which she states over and over again how much she loves Romania, I couldn’t help but be won over by her performance. Lupu has played British royalty previously, and with her timeless beauty and natural regality, it is easy to see why she keeps getting cast in these roles. It’s a joy to watch her deliver an angry speech to Lloyd George over lunch before storming out, even if one wishes the speech itself was a bit better written. When she charms the press in her first meeting with them upon arriving in Paris, one feels charmed too. I found her Queen Marie incredibly easy to root for, and that kept me watching the film to the very end.

Queen Marie is at its best when it stops trying so hard and just lets Lupu —and those costumes—shine.

What do you think? Are you familiar with the story of Queen Marie? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Queen Marie begins screening in virtual cinemas in the U.S. on May 7, 2021. You can find more international release dates here .

Watch Queen Marie

Does content like this matter to you, sisi & i: the empress through another’s eyes.

Queen Marie

By Swapnil Dhruv Bose | May 7, 2021

The subject matter of director Alexis Cahill’s  Queen Marie  is an interesting one that merits some praise. The historical drama reconstructs a particularly complex chapter from the life of the last Queen of Romania. She took it upon herself to campaign for the idea of a Greater Romania at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. It focuses on this particular journey as the fierce and inspiring figure battles against rampant misogyny to make her voice heard in a patriarchal system. Unfortunately, the execution of this project lacks the required amount of grace to tackle such an important topic.

Roxana Lupu stars as the titular queen and delivers a performance filled with an uneven mixture of confidence and unconvincing hesitancy. This is a common occurrence that can be observed in many of the actors in  Queen Marie , who, at times, seem unsure of their surroundings as well as the characters that they are supposed to inhabit. It is almost as if Cahill involuntarily orchestrated a concerted attack against the audience’s suspension of disbelief by occasionally making the viewing experience as far from immersive as possible.

“…took it upon herself to campaign for the idea of a Greater Romania at the Paris Peace Conference…”

Another major flaw in the project is the visual narrative, particularly the editing, is applied in a manner best described as mindlessly haphazard. It is thoroughly arrhythmic and not nearly clever enough to pass off as “experimental.” In terms of the visual presentation, the only redeeming quality is the impeccable mise-en-scène which shoulders the vital responsibility of transporting the audience to the appropriate time period on its own. The lavish costumes of  Queen Marie  and the elaborate recreation of history through the intricate set design is primarily why the production received recognition and won national awards and nominations in those categories.

The film also contextualizes the post-World War I politics in Europe and sheds some light on Romania’s struggle with its national identity in a manner that makes it understandable to everyone watching. However, the narrative never makes up its mind about the topics it addresses. It attempts to launch a subtle critique of the decadence of aristocratic grandeur by contrasting it with the economic reality of the rest of the country. Strangely, screenwriters Brigitte Drodtloff and Maria-Denise Teodoru go into denial of that reality almost immediately after bringing it up through indulgent portrayals of the rituals of the rich. These scenes define spectacle without substance, resulting in many viewers rightly comparing Cahill’s work to a soap opera.

The one thing that  Queen Marie  has undoubtedly proven is the exigent demand for a better movie that will properly chronicle the legacy of the Romanian Queen. As it stands, Cahill, Drodtloff, and Teodoru seem unsure of the kind of film they wanted to tell. They appear equally confused about how to convey the grandiose themes present in the story, and the cast simply gets lost in all the confusion.

Queen Marie (2021)

Directed: Alexis Cahill

Written: Brigitte Drodtloff, Maria-Denise Teodoru

Starring: Roxana Lupu, Daniel Plier, Richard Elfyn, etc.

Movie score: 4/10

"…impeccable mise-en-scène...lavish costumes..."

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Devastated by the First World War and plunged into political controversy, Romania's every hope accompanies its queen on her mission to Paris to lobby for international recognition of its great unification at the 1919 peace talks.

Alexis Sweet Cahill

Brigitte Drodtloff Maria Denise Theodoru

Gabi Antal Radu Apostolescu

Executive Producer: Costin Ranteș

Roxana Lupu Daniel Plier Richard Elfyn Patrick Drury Caroline Loncq

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‘Queen Marie’ Review: A Well-Dressed but Deadly Dull Historical Primer on Romania’s Last Queen

On an official visit to lobby for international support of her beleaguered country amid the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Queen Marie of Romania expresses her frustration that the press coverage is focused not on her efforts at diplomacy, but her extravagant wardrobe and packed social diary. “I suppose if I wish to be heard, I must first allow myself to be seen,” she sighs. Alexis Sweet Cahill ’s carefully ironed biopic “Queen Marie” fancies itself a corrective to such misogyny, offering the British-born monarch belated recognition of her contributions towards the eventual unification of Romania.

So why does the film still feel, as it drifts glacially by over the better part of two hours, like a record of the fabulous things she wore, and the famous people she met, on this tour? “Queen Marie” is dutiful in noting its subject’s accomplishments, but strangely negligent of her personality: Played with exacting decorum but little mirth or fervor by Roxana Lupu , she’s never quite a character, but a critical figure in a well-constructed historical diorama. Cahill’s film is something of an oddity from a country best known cinematically for the fresh, furious sociopolitical currency of its 21st-century “new wave.” If nothing else, “Queen Marie” proves that the Romanian industry can churn out stodgy, attractively decorated Europuddings with the best of them, but it’s hard to see who the audience for this multilingual snoozer might be.

Things start unprepossessingly, with newsreel footage under robotic narration, detailing the turbulent plight of Romania in the First World War — during which time the country’s royal family was forced to take refuge in Moldavia, where the Queen and her daughters labored as military nurses. If this sounds like rather good fodder for a movie, “Queen Marie” is insistent that the real drama was yet to come, introducing the family in strained but slightly less panicked times: The war is over, Romania has united with Transylvania and other neighboring regions, and the campaign for international aid for the larger nation can begin in earnest.

The obstacles, as presented in a labored, exposition-clogged screenplay, neatly take the form of three major powers. U.S. president Woodrow Wilson (Patrick Drury), French prime minister Georges Clemenceau (Ronald Chenery) and British prime minister David Lloyd George (Richard Elfyn) are presented as united in their skepticism of the new, improved Romania. The Romanian counterpart, prime minister Ion Bratianu, has failed to get through to them: Time, then, for a royal intervention, as the doughty Marie resolves to represent her country at the upcoming Paris peace talks, and secure an audience with these fusty male gatekeepers.

This feminist framing of the narrative lends a clear storytelling hook to a pretty dry chapter of history, though it elides a few political complexities — not least among them some governmental discord over sending the country’s Queen to do a politician’s job. “Royalties don’t meddle in politics, they are separate businesses,” Marie is told. The script invites us to share her consternation at this sentiment, though any republican-minded members of the audience would be hard-pressed to disagree. But meddle she does, across a procession of highly starched official appointments that, from a dramatic perspective, rather blur into one.

They do, however, afford a generous showcase to Norma Demitrescu and Laura Russu’s lavish production design, to say nothing of the dazzling array of feathered hats, baroquely patterned shawls and pearls rustled up by costume designers Claudia Bunea and Ana Ioneci. Yet the spectacle only goes so far when the writing — often hopping randomly and inelegantly between accented English and Romanian — is this stiff. This is the kind of historical drama where characters have a habit of speaking in helpful factual parentheticals (“She’s nothing like her grandmother, Queen Victoria”) or unconvincing pomposities (“And now the whole future of greater Romania is at stake!”), rarely saying anything that isn’t immediately and clunkily on-topic.

Sporadic distractions from Marie’s Parisian machinations come in the form of updates on her domestic tensions with husband King Ferdinand (Daniel Plier), fretfully and ineffectively waiting in Bucharest, and their rebellious adult sons. None of this is especially fascinating either, given that the script affords these men even less inner life than it does Marie, while their wardrobe is rather less exciting. Most viewers are likely to leave “Queen Marie” knowing more about the eponymous monarch than they did before, but with precious little inclination to learn much more.

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Review: A Monarch’s Worth Story Is Muddled in Over-Written, if Well-Acted, Queen Marie

• May 11, 2021
• Film , Film & TV , Review

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Movie Review: ‘Queen Marie’

by David Ferguson | May 6, 2021 | Featured , Movie Reviews , Movies | 0 comments

Greetings again from the darkness. There are likely those who know less about the history of Romania than I, but that list is pretty short. Co-writers and co-directors Alexis Sweet Cahill of Italy and Brigitte Drodtloff of Germany, along with three other listed co-writers: Gabi Antal, Ioana Manea, and Maria-Denise Teodoru, bring us the more than 100 year-old story of Queen Marie, and it’s “based on True Events” (including the Queen’s own writings).

Roxana Lupu, originally from Romania, plays Queen Marie, a Monarch who likely doesn’t receive the historical credit she deserves. Her husband, King Ferdinand I is played by Daniel Plier, who really isn’t given much to do here … hence the film’s title. A spectacular opening shot takes us over a frozen river and drops us into Bucharest in 1919. World War I has recently ended, and no one seems to care much about the state of Romania, except Romanians. Having sided with the Triple Entente (Russia, France, and Great Britain), hopes are now fading for a united Romania.

Against the preferences of Romanian Parliament, her husband, and just about everyone else, Marie headed to the Peace Talks being held in Paris … yes, the talks that led to the Treaty of Versailles. Though most tried to encourage her to let the politicians handle the politics, Marie reminded them that she was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and thus is not silenced easily. She forced and maneuvered her way in to meetings with powerful world leaders of the time to negotiate for international recognition (and assistance) of a united Romania.

Above all else, this is the story of strong woman fighting for her country. She goes toe-to-toe with Prime Minister Ion Bratianu (Adrian Titieni), French Prime Minister Clemenceau (Ronald Chenery), and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (Patrick Drury) in her efforts to be heard. She even battles her own son Prince Carol II (Anghel Damian), who would later become King. Ms. Lupu is excellent in the role, and she has previously played Queen Elizabeth (twice), as well as a Princess and a Grand Duchess, so clearly has the screen presence to pull off such royal and regal roles. The film only teases her attraction to Prince Stirbey (Emil Mandanac), and the personal history between her and her cousin, King George V (Nicholas Boulton).

It’s a period drama with the requisite costumes, hair styles, and set design necessary to whisk us away to a century ago, and mostly we learn there was more to this popular Queen than her commitment to feeding citizens during a difficult time. The closing credits give us archival footage as well as the political developments that occurred. The time period covered is limited, but one that was crucial for a country and her Queen.

Available On Demand and on Digital May 7, 2021

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QUEEN MARIE

"a queen checks the kings".

What You Need To Know:

Miscellaneous Immorality: Partisan political perspective, Queen asserts her rights, opposition party and her son refutes the Queen with extreme anger, Romanian Prime Minister’s anger with the Paris peace talks, President Wilson’s dogmatic positions, Clemenceau and Lloyd George discount Queen Marie of Romania, Prince Carol of Romania refutes his father and mother, the King and Queen, and overlooking the extreme population disparity in greater Romania.

More Detail:

QUEEN MARIE is a elegant Romanian movie that tells the story of the King and Queen of Romania fighting diplomatically to control of what they call Greater Romania at the 1919 Paris Peace Talks ending World War I . QUEEN MARIE is a well-made, beautifully filmed historical movie marred by an extraneous scene of fornication and a narrow nationalistic worldview.

The movie opens with documentary footage from World War I showing Romania joining the Allies of France and England, but being conquered quickly by the Germans and forced to submit to a German treaty, which is a treaty that King Ferdinand of Romania never ratifies. The movie then moves to show Queen Marie taking ambulances full of bread and medicine to the impoverished, war-ravaged citizens of Romania on the outskirts of Bucharest.

Cut to the Paris Peace Talks, where the Romanian Prime Minister is frustrated by Prime Minister Clemenceau of France, Lloyd George of Britain and President Wilson’s refusal to listen to the claims of Romania to control what they call Greater Romania, which includes Transylvania, Moldova and other regions no longer in Romania. The allies hold the treaty that Germany forced on Romania against Romania.

When the talks break down, it’s decided to send Queen Marie, who’s the granddaughter of Queen Victoria in England and the cousin of King George, as well as the granddaughter of the royal family of Russia, to travel to Paris to try to save Romania from being carved up by the Allies. At the beginning of WW I, Romania was on the side of the Allies but Germany quickly occupied Romania and Germany imposed a treaty which turned England, France and America against Romania. A significant minority of King Ferdinand’s’ privy council objects to royalty, especially the Queen, acting as diplomats.

Meanwhile, Queen Marie and King Ferdinand’s son, Prince Carol, vehemently lashes out against the King and Queen to oppose her mission. Queen Marie at one point expresses concern that she’s trying to save Greater Romania while her family’s falling apart. Prince Carol married a commoner and believes the world has changed. The King and Queen have gotten the marriage annulled.

After a heated argument with the King, Marie goes to confront Prince Carol, interrupting him by have a maid knock on on Carol’s door while he is having sex with his mistress. Marie threatens Prince Carol that she and his father will designate his younger brother, Nicky, the next king; so, Carol submits, and they eventually command him to go to Transylvania.

Queen Marie takes a royal train to Paris only to find that the Romanian Prime Minister has filled her schedule with tea parties and garden parties to keep her from interfering in diplomacy. She confronts him, and then gets a meeting with Clemenceau of France, and challenges him with the fact that Romania lost many soldiers’ lives fighting Germany and needs to be supported by France. She meets with Prime Minister Lloyd George, who treats her as a foolish woman, but she outsmarts him.

Queen Marie then travels to London to meet her cousin, King George, and bends King George to her will, which turns Prime Minister Lloyd Gearge to her side. She meets with her son, Nicky, who doesn’t want to leave England and thinks Romania is just an impoverished third world country. She returns to Paris and gets a meeting with American President Woodrow Wilson’s wife, who sets up a lunch with President Wilson whom she also convinces to support Romania and warns him of the threat of Communism in Hungary.

When she returns to Romania, however, her son, Carol, gets the King and the privy council to dismiss her success, which sends her into a nosedive. She retreats to a country palace. However, the King comes to visit her, apologizes and tells her the news that they will rule a greater Romania thanks to her diplomacy.

QUEEN MARIE would be a powerful movie except for the very explicit sex scene. It is slightly tilted in its recreation of history, but costumes and staging are excellent.

For anyone who knows the history, the movie does point out that President Wilson was blind to the real situation in Europe and created the problems which precipitated the Second World War. The conservatives like Churchill understood the foolishness of Wilson and even the liberals like John Maynard Keynes got fed up and left the peace talks. The great historian Otto Scott has called Wilson one of the four great fools of history even though Wilson had the highest IQ, next to President Jimmy Carter, whom Scott most likely would have called a great fool if Scott had lived longer. Of course, IQ probably doesn’t measure political, diplomatic intelligence, and, in Wilson’s case, it just measured arrogance and academic ability.

Aside from the sex scene, there’s a deeper problem in the movie QUEEN MARIE. The Romanian people remnants of the Roman Province, from whence they take their name, were just one of many people groups in the territory claimed as Greater Romania. Many of the people weren’t part of the Romanian people group, but were Germans, Hungarians, Slavs, Russians, and Turks, who were opposed to the concept of Greater Romania. Transylvania has traditionally been Hungarian, and the most industrious people there were often the German tribes. In fact, both Ferdinand and Marie came from Germany ancestries and usually spoke German to each other. So, if you know history, the movie is extremely biased. If you don’t, you should read the book, DANUBIA, a book by Simon Winder about the Hapsburg family that ruled most of Central Europe, Austria and Germany for almost 500 years.

In any event, the Romanian monarchy lasted until the Soviet occupation, which brought on one of the most oppressive communist regimes in the world and ended in 1989. Now, many Romanians look lovingly back at the monarchy and have returned the royal properties to Ferdinand and Marie’s descendants.

Queen Marie was clearly an incredible woman. She spent much time nursing the victims of WW I, as did her daughters.

If you love historical movies and can put up with the sex scene, QUEEN MARIE is an interesting movie, but not good enough to demand a viewing.

Documentary exploring the life of Queen Marie of Romania to air on History Channel

Irina Marica

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Marie - Heart of Romania , an acclaimed documentary that presents the extraordinary political role and the interesting private life of Queen Marie of Romania, is scheduled to air on History Channel on October 15 at 22:00. The broadcast marks the 100th anniversary of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie's coronation.

"Granddaughter of Queen Victoria, she married the Crown prince of Romania in 1893. We will see how she ruled the country during the horrors of the First World War until the victory at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The film doesn't avoid the less glamorous aspects of The Queen's life. Her son, Carol, despised his parents, and when he became King, he banished Marie from the court. And when the communists came to power, they erased her from history," reads the press release.

Queen Marie was at the center of the struggle for the achievement of the Great Union of 1918 and the creation of modern Romania, and her destiny "was influenced by events that happened in the royal palaces of Romania, in the salons of Paris, on the streets of New York, in the Kremlin and even in the Wild West." Actor Marcel Iureș narrates the film.

"Who in Romania today can resist a woman who was brave, beautiful, and doubled the size of her adopted nation? That was Queen Marie, a century ago," commented John M. Florescu, the documentary's executive producer.

The special film was made over two years, filming in 9 countries. The research was done in 14 national archives. Viewers have the chance to hear the original voice of the Queen and to see original footage and images of the era, colourized with the help of modern technology and by involving an interdisciplinary team of experts to capture as accurately as possible the reality of those times.

Marie - Heart of Romania  is an independent production of Chainsaw Film Productions and enjoys the support of the Romanian Academy and the Romanian Cultural Institute.

History Channel has also released a special podcast on the life and historical events in which Queen Marie took part. The audio miniseries  Queen Marie – Deeds and words  consists of 5 episodes created by historian Mihaela Simina, joining two interconnected components: quotes (including novelties) that belong to Queen Marie and evocations of events and moments in which the Queen took part.

The five episodes are published weekly on the main streaming platforms and YouTube every Friday from 16:00, with the last episode scheduled for the day before the Coronation Centenary.

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(Photo source: Lenutaidi/Dreamstime.com )

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The Most Mesmerizing Moments of the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony

The 2024 Paris Olympics have had a lot to recommend them: an array of impossibly beautiful backdrops ; a starry cast of commentators, including the likes of Alex Cooper and Snoop Dogg; and competitors like Simone Biles , Sha’Carri Richardson , Katie Ledecky, and Coco Gauff who viewers everywhere are thrilled to get behind.

It was only fitting, then, that the Games should begin in spectacular fashion. French theater director Thomas Jolly helmed an opening ceremony unlike any the Games had seen before, unfolding along the River Seine with all manner of top-tier performers on hand to animate the route.

As a crowd including Sarah Jessica Parker, Tom Cruise, Mick Jagger, Pharrell Williams, Christopher Meloni, Elizabeth Banks, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Greta Gerwig, and thousands upon thousands of Parisians looked on, these were some of the very best moments of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony:

The start of the procession

After an extended prologue that showed famed French soccer coach and former player Zinedine Zidane—also known as Zizou—ferrying the Olympic torch from the Stade de France to the Seine, the ceremony proper began with a bang. An explosion of bleu, blanc, and rouge raining over the Austerlitz Bridge gave way to the (waterborne) parade of nations, starting, as ever, with the Greek delegation.

Lady Gaga turning the Seine into a cabaret

“Bonsoir, bienvenue en Paris!” Lady Gaga cried as she kicked off her long-rumored performance at the opening ceremony, doing a joyous rendition of Zizi Jeanmaire’s classic standard “Mon Truc En Plume.” Surrounded by dancers wielding flamingo pink pom-poms, Gaga was dressed in Dior Haute Couture.

The sense of theater—and the heavy metal

Jolly’s opening ceremony drew on all kinds of performing arts, stitching together musical phrases from The Phantom of the Opera , Les Misérables , Georges Bizet’s Carmen , and a thrilling set by the French heavy-metal band Gojira at the Conciergerie. (Later on, in another engaging display of Paris’s cultural diversity, the rapper Rim’K, wearing a checkered jacket by Louis Vuitton, performed his song “King.”)

The teeming world of la danse was accounted for too: A troupe of modern dancers splashed near Notre-Dame, acrobats flew over the Pont Neuf, and Guillaume Diop—the first Black principal dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet—did a lyrical solo.

Aya Nakamura seizing the Pont des Arts

Aya Nakamura , wearing a feathery gold Dior Haute Couture mini, gave a rousing performance of her hit 2018 singles “Pookie” and “Djadja.” She was joined by a gaggle of dancers (also in Dior), as well as the Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine.

Take a closer look at her dress below:

The “Jeux d’eau” in the rain

French pianist Alexandre Kantorow gave a gorgeous performance of one of Ravel’s best-known pieces for piano—variously translated as “Fountains,” “Playing Water,” or “Water Games”—as the rain came down in Paris.

Axelle Saint-Cirel singing from the roof of the Grand Palais

The Parisian mezzo-soprano was a vision as she sang a stirring new arrangement of “La Marseillaise,” the national anthem of France. Her prettily draped, eight-meter-long dress, also by Dior Haute Couture, was actually of a piece with the French flag she brandished.

The fashion show!

The likes of Farida Khelfa, Ines Rau, and drag queen Nicky Doll turned a footbridge over the Seine into their catwalk during a segment of the ceremony inspired by the fashion industry’s deep roots in the French capital.

The stirring performance of “Imagine”

Continuing a charming tradition at the Games, French singer-songwriter Juliette Armanet performed John Lennon’s classic ballad from a boat on the Seine, accompanied by Sofiane Pamart on a flaming piano.

The scene at the Trocadero…and then at the Tuileries

After a glowing mechanical horse carrying the Olympic flag flew down the Seine—and images and videos from Olympics past were spliced together into a rather affecting highlights reel, representing the achievements of athletes from around the world—a mysterious cloaked figure marched solemnly down the Trocadero, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, before the Olympic hymn played.

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Then, following remarks from Tony Estanguet, president of Paris 2024, and Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, king of clay Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis, Nadia Comăneci, and Serena Williams boarded a boat with the Olympic torch—headed in the opposite direction. Where were they going? To meet tennis legend Amélie Mauresmo, who, after a jog up to the Louvre, passed the torch on to a series of athletes, including former basketball player Tony Parker, former handball players Michaël Guigou and Allison Pineau, and 100-year-old former cyclist Charles Coste.

At the end of the relay were former sprinter Marie-José Pérec and judoka Teddy Riner, who lit up an enormous hot-air balloon in the Tuileries Garden.

Céline Dion performing from the Eiffel Tower

Dressed in a shimmering beaded Dior Haute Couture dress, Dion—who, as some may recall, sang “The Power of the Dream” at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta—made a much-anticipated appearance to perform “L’Hymne à l’Amour,” a song popularized by Edith Piaf in the 1950s. In so doing, she brought an utterly unforgettable opening ceremony to a thoroughly moving conclusion.

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Everything You Need to Know About the 2024 Olympics

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