The Girl King Movie Review

『A Candid Tale of a Queen Torn Between Identity, Power, and Love』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: The Girl King (2015)
🌍 Country: 🇫🇮 Finland / 🇸🇪 Sweden / 🇨🇦 Canada
🎞️ Genre: Historical / Drama / Biographical
⏳ Runtime: 110 minutes
📢 Director: Mika Kaurismäki
🖋️ Screenwriter: Michel Marc Bouchard

👩‍💼 Cast: Malin Buska – Queen Kristina
Sarah Gadon – Countess Ebba Sparre / Lorenza
Lotta Lehtikari – Countess Ebba Sparre

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers Included)

👑 The ‘Boy King’ Genius

Kristina ascends the throne at the age of six, and in accordance with her late father King Gustavus Adolphus II’s wishes, she is educated not as a “Girl King” but as a Prince. This background profoundly shapes her identity and her philosophy of rule.

• Gender Confusion and Defiance: She prefers masculine clothing, enjoys hunting and intellectual pursuits, and openly rejects the roles expected of women. Her very existence becomes a challenge to the strict Lutheran values and gender norms that dominated Sweden at the time.

• Intellectual Thirst and Philosophy: Kristina maintains correspondence and conversation with the intellectuals of Europe, most notably inviting René Descartes to her court to discuss philosophy. For her, philosophy is not merely academic—it is a weapon to defend the freedom of the individual mind against dogma and social constraint.

Armed with brilliance and political insight, she succeeds in ending the Thirty Years’ War. Yet to the conservative nobility and the Privy Council, she appears unpredictable, arrogant, and indulgent.

🌈 An Explicit Queer Romance

This film stands out for portraying Queen Kristina’s sexuality through an explicit queer romance, breaking away from earlier biographical films that treated her identity ambiguously.

• Exclusive Desire: Kristina rejects countless marriage proposals from European nobles and immerses herself in scholarship and masculine pursuits, yet expresses a possessive and intense affection for Ebba. Ebba represents both femininity and emotional refuge in Kristina’s otherwise intellectual world.
• Intersection of Intellect and Sensuality: One of the film’s most striking scenes shows Kristina seducing Ebba while quoting Descartes’ philosophical ideas. Her love transcends physical attraction—it is a fusion of intellectual superiority and erotic desire. Her sexual awakening mirrors her rebellion against intellectual and moral confinement.

⚔️ Power Dynamics: The Queen and Her Lady-in-Waiting

The most complex and controversial aspect of Kristina and Ebba’s relationship is the imbalance of power.

• Kristina’s Dominance: As queen, Kristina commands Ebba to undress or enters her chambers without consent—actions that cross personal boundaries and expose the authority embedded in her royal status. Her “love” for Ebba may also carry an implicit pressure of obedience, adding an ethical ambiguity to their intimacy.
• Ebba’s Passive Resistance: Ebba is torn between genuine affection and the need for social survival. Though she reciprocates Kristina’s feelings, she fears the consequences of their bond. Her eventual decision to marry reflects a reluctant but inevitable retreat from both the queen’s control and the oppressive court politics.

💥 Collision Between Freedom and Repression

Their love becomes more than a scandal—it embodies a philosophical and moral rebellion against Sweden’s rigidly religious society.

• Lutheran Rigor vs. Personal Desire: Under the strict moral rule of Lutheranism, Kristina’s homosexuality stands as a direct challenge to religious dogma and moral law. Her love for Ebba acts as a personal catalyst driving her to renounce her throne and convert to Catholicism—acts that defied both faith and monarchy.
• Tragic Inevitability: Ebba’s marriage symbolizes her surrender to societal expectations, ending their forbidden affair. Kristina’s realization that her deepest desires are incompatible with her royal role drives her to abandon her crown. Their separation becomes the emotional turning point that leads Kristina to choose freedom over power.

💙 Abdication and Spiritual Escape

The film’s climactic moment is Kristina’s abdication of the throne—an act both political and deeply personal.

• Political and Religious Transformation: Her abdication and subsequent conversion from Lutheranism to Catholicism signify not just a change in belief, but a radical rejection of Sweden’s oppressive structures. She seeks liberation not through conquest, but through the refusal to conform.
• A Journey Toward Freedom: The final scenes depict Kristina leaving Sweden on horseback, dressed in men’s clothing, riding toward Rome. It is not an escape, but an awakening—the symbolic beginning of a journey where she lives as a free individual, unbound by gender, faith, or nation.

💫 A Monarch Who Defied Gender Norms

The Girl King portrays Queen Kristina’s struggles with identity, sexuality, and autonomy, reframing her life as an early exploration of gender fluidity and queer history. Although some critics point out the film’s melodramatic tone and historical compression, Malin Buska’s performance and the queen’s radical choices make it a compelling story of a woman far ahead of her time.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★★