This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Long Live the King!
Plot Overview
In 1684 King Louis XIV (Pierce Brosnan)
commissions sea Captain Yves De La Croix (Benjamin Walker) to capture
a mermaid (Bingbing Fan) to be sacrificed at the upcoming lunar eclipse,
in order to impart to himself immortality—for the stability of
France, of course. His new composer for the celebration will be a convent
musician, his illegitimate daughter Marie-Josephe (Kaya Scoderlario)
arriving incognito. The girl and the fish can communicate musically
cum telepathically, which sours her on the sacrifice.
Furthermore, she and the dashing captain fall in love, leading to a
fishy plan to elope. The king's musketeers are set after them.
Ideology
The point of this picture seems to be a morality tale on picking one's battles. The new arrival is under intense scrutiny by the ladies in court, and she is given her own lady-in-waiting, a negress Magali (Crystal Clarke) to help her with court life. She is put on the spot at the ball because in the convent she'd never learned to dance. The king settles it by giving her instruction on the spot. She sucks up her embarrassment and learns a minuet center stage. Reminds me of eastern belly dancing that was at first done to demonstrate to younger women the process of child-bearing. One day their king wanted to see it, and one doesn't deny the monarch. So belly dancing became public entertainment.
The biblical scholar might recall another celebration story (Esther 1:10-22). Queen Vashti's modesty was so precious to her that she would not appear unveiled at the king's celebration request. Marie-Josephe, however, would remove her outer garments to swim at the isolated beach by the convent, which brought severe censure from the Head Abbess (Rachel Griffiths) who thought the sea was wicked. But none lesser than the renowned preacher Peter Marshall concedes, “Like every British boy, I had a strong love of the sea” (23.)
Louis XIV saw his priest quit rather
than sanction an atrocity with a sentient being. And the king's daughter
runs off with the sea captain rather than submit to the arranged marriage
he had in store for her. This recalls, (Prov. 14:28) “In the multitude
of people is the king's honour: but in the want of people is the
destruction of the prince.” It doesn't look good for the king
to be losing subjects right and left. For that matter it wouldn't
look good for the abbess to be left with a convent of old women few
in number. The priest recalled for the king a lesson from King David,
(1Chr. 28:9) “And thou, Solomon
my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect
heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts,
and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou
seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will
cast thee off for ever.”
Production Values
“” (2022) was directed by Sean McNamara. It was based on the 1997 novel, The Moon and the Sun, by Vonda N. McIntyre, adapted for the screen by a number of screenwriters including Ronald Bass, Barry Berman, Laura Harrington, and James Schamus. It stars Pierce Brosnan, Kaya Scodelario, Benjamin Walker and William Hurt. It was told in storybook fashion, with narration from Julie Andrews. These were not challenging roles, and the actors were more than up to it.
MPAA rated it PG for some violence, suggestive material and thematic elements. It was filmed in Docklands Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Although shot in 2014, it wasn't released until 2022. The setting is the most salient aspect of this movie.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
The genius of “The King's Daughter” is it explores the question of when to give in to authority and when to push back, by taking it to a distant historical era and employing an element of fantasy, so as to avoid current conflicts of the audience. My own veil etiquette—if I may call it that—was men removed their hats indoors—women could wear theirs. Once out shopping with my dad he told me to put my hat on in a store. I swallowed my disinclination and complied. The store sold the particular hat I wore and it would seem more mine on my head than in my hand. In later years (after I'd reached my majority) my ex-military dad thought I should put on a uniform and fight in a war I considered unjust. I didn't feel disposed to comply with that request. Hot issues would be hard to watch within a diverse group. Give it some distance and people can discuss them in the abstract, or at least know how the others feel. This movie is easily watchable by a wide range of people, though it might not be the favorite of any segment.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability for children: Suitable for children with guidance. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Good for Groups. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Three stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quotations are from the Authorized King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Marshall, Catherine. Sermons and prayers of Peter Marshall. Mr. Jones, Meet the Master. Copyright 1949, 1950 by Fleming H. Revell Company. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 37th printing. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org