The King

• Karin af Klintberg
• 99 min
• Sweden
• 2023
• Documentary

Astonishing scenes and odd castle environments in Karin af Klintberg’s unique portrait of a solitary monarch.

Who is Carl XVI Gustaf, on the inside? What is it actually like being king? With an open battery of questions, Karin af Klintberg (Ebbe the Movie, GFF 2009; Nice People GFF 2015) get the court to open up the gates and provide her with exceptional access to Sweden’s king. The result is a thought-provoking film about a man born in the forties who shies away from reflections and whiny things. Karin af Klintberg dexterously tightens the formal framework to seek the truth in the cracks. And she really does catch a glimpse of something, not least as she piggy-backs on the fleeing sovereign who shies in the bushes in order to avoid approaching subjects at the summer castle Solliden.

* The screening on February 4 is included in DocBar at Bar Kino: Right after the film, moderator Soraya Hashim will discuss portraying the Royal Family and the mutual love-hate dependency between the Royal Family and the media, with director Karin af Klintberg and Åsa Linderborg, journalist and historian, current with the documentary The King with Two Faces. (In Swedish.)

- Jonas Holmberg

• Dokumentär
• Världspremiär
• Familj
• Uppväxt