I had petty good expectations when I carefully walked to Fritjof on really icy and slippery sidewalks this Sunday evening. I had just spend one hour digging my car out of an enormous pile of snow so a relaxing beer and a nice movie did not seem like a bad idea to end the weekend. My expectations were fulfilled. The King’s Speech is a classic British movie at it best. Excellent acting, scenes and craftsmanship. Highly recommended.

The story is quite known. Prince Albert, Bertie among close friends, was the younger brother of King George V’s two sons and was never expected to be a very public figure. From young age he suffered from stammering, which in the old days of the monarchy would not be a big problem. But with the invention of the radio and other means of electronic communication it became a rather severe disability.

The films starts in the mid twenties when the prince is about to make a speech at Wembley stadium – he could not be completely invisible to the public after all – which ends in embarrassment and disaster. Something has to be done and after a number of failures, Albert’s wife manages to connect him with an unconventional speech and language therapist named Lionel Logue. It does not go so well in the beginning and there are many setbacks and conflicts but over the years some progress is made. Then, to Albert’s greatest despair, his older brother decides, only after a few months as ruling King Edward VIII, to abdicate in late 1936 due to his relationship with Wallis Simpson. Suddenly there is no way for Albert, now King George VI, to hide in the rear and Logue’s aid becomes more important than ever. To make it even worse, Europe is moving towards the outbreak of WWII and the king is suddenly the public figure that must address the nation and the world.