Why do we cling to the people that we love, but who clearly don’t treat us well? It’s a common question in romance films, one that often leads to a conclusion that people shouldn’t feel shackled to partners that don’t treat them right, but sometimes other films seem to shame these unfortunate lovers for making the wrong choice. My King doesn’t do that. Sure, Georgio can seem like an obvious asshole (he is), but writer-director Maïwenn makes clear that the same things that make him erratic– his spontaneity, his enjoyment of life, and his open acceptance– which Vincent Cassel superbly embodies, are also the same things that attracted Tony in the first place. And as Tony recovers her knee, the careful interstitching between her time at the center and her romance with Georgio visually parallels the physical and emotional wounds in an interesting way. Mon Roi is familiar romance stuff, but it’s the approach that makes the film work.
"A very wise movie with brilliant performances and no answers, one that presents the impossible stability of love like scientific fact."
— Nick Allen
"Maiwenn is concerned first and foremost with her characters, who rank among the most vividly realized of any to have graced the screen in recent memory ..."
— Peter Debruge
Tony is admitted to a rehabilitation center after a serious ski accident. Dependent on the medical staff and pain relievers, she takes time to look back on a turbulent relationship that she experienced with Georgio.
After tearing the ligaments on her leg in a skiing accident, Tony goes to a seaside rehabilitation center to recover. While there, her counsellor and her painkillers bring her to remember her tumultuous romance with Georgio.
Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Bercot. There’s clear chemistry there, in both love and hate.
I imagine this would hit different depending on your current relationship status.
