{"id":24149,"date":"2022-01-20T14:07:44","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T22:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=24149"},"modified":"2022-01-20T14:07:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T22:07:44","slug":"the-kings-daughter-is-a-fractured-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=24149","title":{"rendered":"THE KING\u2019S DAUGHTER is a Fractured Fantasy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Gravitas Ventures will release this film in theaters\non January 21st<\/sup>, 2022.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to forget just how difficult it is to produce and create a feature film. There are so many moving parts and factors involved, it\u2019s a wonder that so many aren\u2019t just completed, but are also effective and engaging. The King\u2019s Daughter <\/em>serves as a case in point as to how things can go sideways. This movie was shot back in 2014 by a major studio, but ended up being shelved. After several years, another distributor has picked It up and is putting it in theaters. Admittedly, the film is impressive in a few respects and is a fascinating watch, but perhaps not in the way it was originally intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Loosely based on the 1997 novel The Moon and the Sun<\/em>, this period fable begins with lengthy backstory explained in voice-over by a narrator (Julie Andrews). She explains that after an assassination made on French leader, King Louis XIV (Pierce Brosnan), the figure starts to fear losing his life and power. He then hears rumors that finding and sacrificing a magical creature from the sea will give him immortality. So, Louis XIV sends his best sailor Yves De La Croix (Benjamin Walker) to catch a Mermaid (Fan Bingbing). As if that wasn\u2019t enough trouble, the King also hates the composer chosen to play music each morning when he awakens. A talented but impoverished youth named Marie-Jos\u00e8phe (Kaya Scodelario) arrives at the royal palace to pen more pleasing melodies. She impresses Louis XIV, but also learns about the Mermaid imprisoned on site and decides to help her. Marie-Jos\u00e8phe also has a mysterious history, although that secret will be obvious to anyone aware of the film\u2019s title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As noted, it is clearly evident that this film went through\na troubled post-production. Clearly, a great deal more footage was shot than\nwas actually used in the finished product. The story races through a lot of\nbackground information early on and introduces not just the leads, but numerous\nindividuals including staff members in a remarkably short amount of time (many of\nwhom ultimately fade into the background). It jumps around so much early on that\nthe viewers will be scratching their heads trying to understand what is\nhappening and the motivations of each thinly drawn character. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s a strange focus on Louis XIV, even though he is\nessentially the antagonist. A great deal of footage follows him marching aroundhis\ngrounds in full pomp and acting ostentatiously. It leaves little time to get to\nknow protagonist Marie-Jos\u00e8phe, who suddenly appears at the palace and adapts with\nease despite being thrust into a very strange situation. And after an\nincredibly brief amount of time with Yves De La Croix, she falls head over\nheels for the sailor and soon wants to drop everything to be with her new man.\nMarie-Jos\u00e8phe\u2019s remarkable musical composition skills are eventually forgotten\nand instead seem like a plot device to get the main character to the palace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One can make the excuse that this is a kid\u2019s film and that the\nwriting and performances are campy and overplayed for the benefit of younger viewers.\nBut once again, there are strange elements that would suggest otherwise. This\nincludes Louis XIV making jokes about the different women whom he takes to bed each\nnight and can\u2019t remember. With the rapid pacing and choppiness between fantasy\nsequences involving the Mermaid, the earnest Marie-Jos\u00e8phe finding her true\nlove and the exaggerated depictions of real figures like King Louis XIV, it\u2019s\nimpossible to know what was intended. The movie\u2019s tone is all over the place\nand it ultimately comes across as silly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At least there\u2019s one positive and that is the impressive\nlocations. This feature appears to have been shot in part around the actual Palace\nof Versailles. As a result, viewers are treated to stunning images of the\nsite\u2019s staggeringly lavish interiors and exteriors. In fact, there are numerous\nscenes with the characters unnecessarily wandering and conversing in the\nbuilding and gardens, seemingly trying to get every bit of production value\nthey can out of the incredible backdrop. The constructed sets also look good,\nincluding the underground cave with an elaborate underwater chamber where the\nMermaid is confined.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The King\u2019s Daughter<\/em> is visually striking and young kids may not care that the story and characters aren\u2019t well written. For adults, this film is something of a disaster. But at least this reviewer can say he was never bored watching it and those looking for a very cheesy time at the movies may be amused by this unintentionally bizarre and fractured fantasy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gravitas Ventures will release this film in theaters on January 21st, 2022. It\u2019s easy to forget just how difficult it is to produce and create a feature film. There are so many moving parts and factors involved, it\u2019s a wonder that so many aren\u2019t just completed, but are also effective and engaging. The King\u2019s Daughter serves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,2560,3295,6251,7266,7297,7314,11527,11779,15656,16085,21214,21215,21216,21217],"class_list":["post-24149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-benjamin-walker","tag-book-adaptation","tag-drama","tag-fairy-tale","tag-fan-bingbing","tag-fantasy","tag-kaya-scodelario","tag-king-louis-xiv","tag-palace-of-versailles","tag-pierce-brosnan","tag-the-kings-daughter","tag-the-kings-daughter-film-review","tag-the-kings-daughter-movie-review","tag-the-kings-daughter-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}