Ehrengarde ou l'Art de la séduction

Bille August's sumptuous production of Karen Blixen's novel is a joy for the eyes. It has fabulous on-location sets, beautiful countryside, CGI-enhanced mountain backdrops, and great costumes. It is filled with sweet, gentle, wry humor. It's a period-piece romantc comedy that Jane Austen lovers will also like very much. The cast did a fine job, with the three leads delivering convincing and (mostly) subtle performances that fit the tomne and mood of the story. All that said, it was a also a bit flat at times, and a bit overplayed, so a touch disappointing as well. Will there be a sequel ? It would be fun to see one !

IN A NUTSHELL: When a painter is asked to teach a royal prince about love and romance, the plan backfires, leading to a potential scandal that could threaten the line of succession.

The film is an adaptation of a famous novel in Denmark by Karen Blixen. You might recognize her name from another famous book she wrote "Out of Africa", which was also turned into an award-winning film in 1985! But that's not all. Her book "Babette's Feast" was also turned into a popular film in 1997.

THINGS I LIKED: I had never seen any of the actors in anything before, and I really liked them all. The talented cast includes Alice Bier Zanden, Emil Aron Dorph, Mikkel boe Folsgaard, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Emilie Kroyer Koppel, Jacob Lohmann, Sara-Marie Maltha, and more.

The European setting is extremely charming. I love traveling to beautiful places in movies! Of course, the kingdom represented in the story is fictional.

We see some beautiful gardens, landscapes, and interiors. The cinematographer, Jan Pallesen, does a great job.

If you really love this movie, you'll be happy to know that Netflix has created a documentary called "Lifting the Veil: Behind the Scenes of Ehrengard." It features interviews with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and director Bille August as they talk about their meticulous attention to the sets and costumes of the movie. One thing the documentary doesn't quite explain is how and why the current Queen of Denmark got involved with the film though. In the documentary, she appeared to really love working on this project. At the end of the feature film, we see several decoupage designs for the landscapes and room interiors that inspired the movie's locations. Those were all personally handmade by the Queen! She was also involved in designing the costumes years before the movie was filmed. I thought they were beautiful and terrific! How fun for the Queen to have a creative outlet in this project. I wonder if the Danish citizens were annoyed that she was spending so much time away from her important royal work.

Everything about the movie is very fairytale-like.

The musical theme is lovely.

The ending attempts to connect this story with a famous story as an origin story.

On a personal note, one of my sons is dating a girl from Denmark. We've had dinner with her family many times and absolutely adore all of them. We even celebrated Christmas with them and got to join in on the fun Danish tradition of singing and dancing around the Christmas tree. They speak Danish at home all of the time, so it was fun to watch the documentary in Danish with English subtitles. I learned cognates for words our languages have in common: day, interior, exterior, masculine, special, and Renaissance.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Woke viewers probably won't like the old-fashioned traditions of gender roles and romance, claiming the film condones "toxic masculinity." The studio's movie description makes you think the bulk of the movie is about how the painter teaches the prince to seduce women but that's not the case at all. The bulk of the movie is what happens after the prince falls in love and marries a young woman.

There is a serious plot hole at the end of the movie involving what would have been the natural aftermath of events. No spoilers here though!

In the beginning, the viewer assumes the protagonist is a certain "someone"; however, in the end, the reveal of the true hero might surprise you.

It's supposed to be funny that so much deception is involved in the story. In that regard, the story felt very juvenile and shallow. With such gorgeous set designs, costumes, and locations, I had hoped for something a bit more sophisticated.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Kids will be bored.

We see pencil sketches of nude women.

An older, married royal woman talks about sleeping with a younger, single man.

We see a nude woman in a lake from the rear in the distance.

Talk of premarital sexual relations that result in a baby.

We see a single man and married woman tumbling around in bed (skin is covered)

!

In this adaptation of a Karen Blixen novel, Cazotte (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) discusses the art of seduction with The Grand Duchess (Sidse Babett Knudsen) while painting her. They hatch the idea of him teaching her shy son, Prince Lohar (Emil Aron Dorph) how to seduce Princess Ludmilla (Emilie Kroyer Koppel). The plan works and the young couple gets married.

However, a scandalous situation breaks out that requires the couple to hide from society for a few months in the country. Cazotte, who has been fancying lovely and proper young woman Ehrengard (Alice Esther Bier Zandén) for sometime now, suggests that she keeps Ludmilla company while the couple is in hiding.

Cazotte makes a bet with the Grand Duchess that he can seduce Ehrengard during this period of seclusion.

The conniving pair could not imagine that Ehrengard is not as naive and dumb as they think she is. What she does would leave a lasting impact on Cazotte and society.

This is pleasing to the eyes thus manages to hold the attention while the viewer keeps wondering what the story is leading up to. The twist at the end would leave the viewer chuckling.

But anyone with a broad mind and a sense of fun will find this film a total delight. I approached it warily, sensing a tired old BBC-flavoured costume drama along the lines of Persuasion or Pride and Prejudice (the more recent version: the earlier one with Colin Firth was genial), but two minutes in and the sight of the Arch Duchess recomposing herself for her portrait after making a failed grab at the artist and I was captivated. Dialogues are spot on: timeless and utterly convincing; acting is flawless across the board; photography is ravishing. What more do you want? Answer, I want more from this team and this director.

I rated this production as 8/10 because it was delightful and light and the acting was naturally funny and endearing. But what mostly attracted me to the movie was the scenes and the costumes, the decor, the whole period drama/comedy scene. I was surprised later to know that it was the Queen of Denmark who was responsible for all that! I am not a fan of royal families, but here I have to take off my hat for such a very successful and impactful production. It really made the movie as lovely as it was. The story is light, do not expect anything deep, this is a sweet period comedy set in a great context. At least 8/10 confirmed.