The most I could reasonably give this 1933 film is a 7/10, if it had been executed well, but it was not in two important ways.
But I should recommend it for its good point, which is a good and seemingly accurate scene of abdication, which is I think a rarity for film. The rest of the story is interesting, but lacks emotion.
The film's first half fails utterly, because we're supposed to believe that this woman can pass for a man if she wants to. In real life, Christina was intersexed and/or lesbian. She not only could pass if she wanted, but is reported to have been very masculine anyway, and courted women. The actress portraying her here is not just feminine, but also made up to retain that feminine look, even in male garb. And the character is shown having an interest in men, which is not representative of her usual desires. So my main two problems with the film are that the character doesn't reflect the historical person, and is in any case not believable (nor are any of the characters who are fooled by her dressed as a man).
The second half is more interesting because it gets into the personal cost of being a royal. But a further problem here is that the real issue wasn't about loving a Spanish man, but about her conversion to Catholicism, and her spending. I didn't count this against the film as it already wandered too far into fiction in the first half.
This film is worth a remake by a more competent team today. I have not seen The Abdication (1974) but that film may be worth viewing as well.
But I should recommend it for its good point, which is a good and seemingly accurate scene of abdication, which is I think a rarity for film. The rest of the story is interesting, but lacks emotion.
The film's first half fails utterly, because we're supposed to believe that this woman can pass for a man if she wants to. In real life, Christina was intersexed and/or lesbian. She not only could pass if she wanted, but is reported to have been very masculine anyway, and courted women. The actress portraying her here is not just feminine, but also made up to retain that feminine look, even in male garb. And the character is shown having an interest in men, which is not representative of her usual desires. So my main two problems with the film are that the character doesn't reflect the historical person, and is in any case not believable (nor are any of the characters who are fooled by her dressed as a man).
The second half is more interesting because it gets into the personal cost of being a royal. But a further problem here is that the real issue wasn't about loving a Spanish man, but about her conversion to Catholicism, and her spending. I didn't count this against the film as it already wandered too far into fiction in the first half.
This film is worth a remake by a more competent team today. I have not seen The Abdication (1974) but that film may be worth viewing as well.