A bold, visually lush biopic of Queen Kristina of Sweden—torn between political duty, personal freedom, and forbidden love. The Girl King dares to reimagine the life of a monarch who defied gender, religion, and societal norms in her pursuit of knowledge, passion, and autonomy.
In 17th-century Sweden, young Queen Kristina (played by Malin Buska) ascends to the throne after her father’s death, determined to rule with intellect over force. Fascinated by philosophy, independence, and the arts, she becomes close to her lady-in-waiting, Countess Ebba Sparre (Sarah Gadon), and an intimate, emotionally charged bond forms between them.
But politics is rarely forgiving. Pressured by her advisor Oxenstierna to marry his son and preserve the royal lineage, and manipulated by court rivals who use Ebba as a pawn, Kristina finds herself cornered between duty and desire. As her love becomes entangled with power, betrayal, and loss, the Queen makes a radical choice—to renounce the throne and reclaim her life on her own terms.
The Girl King Cast
Charactor
A headstrong, curious, and defiant monarch who seeks truth over tradition and love over duty.
Malin Buska
Malin Buska brings a unique energy to the role—combining academic curiosity with emotional volatility. While her English line delivery may feel uneven at times, she successfully communicates Kristina’s isolation and complexity.
Kristina’s lady-in-waiting and romantic obsession. Gentle, poised, but ultimately unable to defy the world she lives in.
Sarah Gadon
Sarah Gadon, known for Alias Grace and A Dangerous Method, plays Ebba with quiet grace. Her internal conflict—between affection and self-preservation—is subtle but heartbreaking.
Director
Mika Kaurismäki
Mika Kaurismäki is a Finnish director known for blending cultural storytelling with philosophical themes. A veteran of European cinema, he often focuses on characters living outside social norms. In The Girl King, Kaurismäki channels Kristina’s intellectual turmoil and suppressed sexuality through painterly visuals and brooding tempo, though some critics note a lack of emotional depth in scripting.
His best-known works include Road North, Mama Africa, and Zombie and the Ghost Train. While The Girl King was met with mixed reviews, it remains one of the few historical dramas that place a sapphic monarch at the center of both political and emotional storms.
MOVIE HIGHLIGHT
A rare sapphic historical biopic that centers a real-life queer queen and her romantic entanglements.
Themes of intellectual rebellion, personal sovereignty, and philosophical longing.
Striking costume and set design, capturing the austere beauty of 17th-century Northern Europe.
Kristina’s boldness—from crashing her lover’s wedding to abdicating the throne—cements her as one of the most complex GL characters on screen.
The Girl King Review
Review
⭐ Story – 4.3/5
The Girl King portrays not just a queer royal romance but a story of spiritual rebellion. Though the screenplay lacks historical subtlety at times, the central arc of Kristina’s inner battle—between crown and soul, power and poetry—is vividly compelling.
⭐ Acting – 3.8/5
Malin Buska’s Kristina grows on you. Her awkward intensity becomes endearing, especially as she sheds royal decorum for personal authenticity. Sarah Gadon brings quiet poise to Ebba, though the emotional dynamic often feels one-sided.
⭐ Chemistry – 4.2/5
Their connection feels raw, erratic, and emotionally asymmetrical—which suits the power imbalance between a queen and her courtier. While not always romantic in the traditional sense, their intimacy carries real ache.
⭐ Production – 4.5/5
Rich Nordic landscapes, candlelit interiors, and period-accurate costume design elevate the film’s visual experience. Despite limitations in script and accent performance, the aesthetic immerses you in its time.
⭐ Ending – 4.4/5
The final act—Kristina’s withdrawal from royal life—is not defeat but liberation. Her renunciation is both painful and powerful, echoing a defiant cry for selfhood that few historical dramas dare to articulate.
💬 Our Take
The Girl King is not a conventional lesbian love story. It’s about longing more than fulfillment, and about a woman too brilliant and too ahead of her time to be easily loved or understood.
Kristina is awkward, intense, cerebral—a queen who quotes Descartes, scoffs at war, and demands to be seen as a mind, not a marriage prospect. Her queerness is not only in her attraction to women, but in her refusal to accept the roles assigned to her: wife, mother, ruler.
Ebba, by contrast, desires safety, structure, perhaps even the illusion of normalcy. When the moment comes to choose love over comfort, she hesitates. And Kristina, with all her fire, cannot bear to be loved halfway.
Their story hurts because it feels true: one woman burns too brightly, the other cannot follow. In the end, Kristina’s decision to leave it all behind is both political and personal—an act of queer emancipation long before the term existed.