Danish director Nikolaj Arcel is in the midst of worldwide success. He’s been previously known for directing smaller films in Denmark, such as “King’s Game” and “Island of Lost Souls,” and writing for the Swedish “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” His newest film, “A Royal Affair,” a story of the 18th century romance between the queen of Denmark and her king’s trusted physician, is an Academy Award nominee this year for Best Foreign Language Film. Arcel’s film, now gaining international recognition, has re-opened at theaters across the country, including the local Laemmle’s Royal Theatre. Daily Bruin’s Sebastian Torrelio spoke with Arcel about his film’s Academy Award nomination, costumes and his dream of making a sci-fi film.
Daily Bruin: Being raised in Denmark, and being a notable alumnus of its European Film College, it must have meant a lot to direct a film about the country’s rich royal history. What meaning did this story in particular have for you?
Nikolaj Arcel: This story is extremely famous in Denmark, it’s told everywhere, from kids, stories and operas. There was a bit of weight on my shoulders to be the guy to get this on cinema. I was always crazy about this story since I was quite young. If nobody did it before, I was hoping I’d be the one to do it.
DB: What was the process like in acquiring a story so heavily significant to the country?
NA: I would say the screenplay I wrote for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” the original, was probably the thing that got me the job to do this. I was trying to raise money for this film for some years, and as I was waiting I wrote the screenplay for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” And as it came out, I got enough recognition in Denmark to be given the story. And it was necessary, as (“A Royal Affair”) was not expensive, it cost about ($8 million). But for Denmark, that’s a lot of money. … “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was the prime reason I was allowed to do it.
DB: It seems there was some trouble in finding a novel to base the story off of – another company had already bought the rights to a particular novel (of interest)?
NA: Yes, another film was trying to be made at the same time as well, based on (the) novel. We had the rights to (another) novel, and we changed so much that it’s not really the novel anymore, but we kept it on the credits because we owed it to the author; she did a great job of writing a book. … What attracted me to the project was the political aspect, so we did a lot of research, a year or more of it, finding out what happened. … We wanted a representation of the truth, and we worked so hard adapting and finding out the truth and what we really knew about it. The main issue was balancing … the forbidden love story and revolutionary story of the film. We tried to mesh these two stories together. … They’re both about freedom, and that came together quite well.
NA: It was fascinating at all times. As a director it’s so fun to be able to play different worlds. I previously did a big fantasy film with a bunch of creatures, and I loved the design process of making those films. With this, I loved being able to look at beautiful paintings and castles. It’s very inspiring to place these wonderful actors in these amazing surroundings … it feels like you’re transported to a different time. It fuels the ambition levels, the language you have when you tell the story. It’s nice to make stories in different worlds than my own, mine is not very interesting. It was a big challenge since we didn’t have a lot of money, we had very few extras, very few horses, few characters, but eventually we were smart about it.
DB: This is your first film to get such big recognition worldwide. What is the excitement like as the Academy Awards approach?
NA: It’s quite unlike anything else, but the most truthful thing I can say is that you don’t really (understand the feel of success until you achieve it). … I’ve never thought about success as something I can use on a personal level other than making movies. I’m still a bit dazed and confused about it. I was extremely delighted when we were nominated for the Academy Award. … (The film) has been shipped to 85 countries, in Europe and Asia and America. For something you worked so hard on trying to get made and financed, it’s wonderful that there’s such a massive amount of people who have seen this film. … In Denmark, when you work on a big success, about 300 people see it.
DB: What inspiration do you take from other directors and filmmakers?
NA: I’m 40 years old, so I grew up on Spielberg and Lucas, Coppola and Scorsese. I grew up on the guys who came out in the ’70s and ’80s. I think they still inspire me greatly, not just the first films they made, but what they still do. In that sense, I’m not typical Danish, they’re inspired by German directors and the French new wave. I was more inspired by American movies, and I think “A Royal Affair” is more inspired by them, big epics of the ’40s and ’50s. I definitely went back to those films when I was willing to tell my stories.
DB: What are your aspirations and goals for future films and projects?
NA: I’ve always had this idea to do a film in every genre before I die. I don’t know if I’ll get to that, there are so many genres. But the next thing I hope to do is maybe a sci-fi film. … Obviously, if you do a sci-fi film, you have to have a good idea. And the main thing is that I live in Los Angeles, and I’m writing and developing American projects.
There’s only so much you can do in Denmark with what stories you can tell. The normal day’s budget is $4 million or less, and you can’t do much with that. To do other kinds of films, you have to go to America or England. … The best of both worlds is to do both Danish and international films. But I’ll always keep doing things. I’ll never leave it.
Email Torrelio at storrelio@media.ucla.edu.