Juliet and the King Review
Juliet and the King (2025) Film Review from the 29th Annual Fantasia Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Ashkan Rahgozar and starring Hamed Behdad, Ghazal Shakeri, Nasrolah Medghalchi, Vahid Ronaghi and Shohre Roohi.
In talented filmmaker Ashkan Rahgozar’s animated Persian comedy, Juliet and the King, a young woman named Julie tries to get a boost in her acting career by performing the role of Juliet for a King. This film focuses on Julie and fellow artist, Jamal, and their run-in with distant royalty which gives Julie a chance to reach for the stars. If fate works in her favor, she may just get to perform a take on William Shakespeare’s beloved play, Romeo and Juliet. This movie also features a glimpse of the real-life Shakespeare, himself, in humorous images within which shed light on Julie’s attempt at mastering her difficult craft. This movie has a jolly good time with its light material and never makes one feel that Julie is in any real jeopardy even if, techinically, she is. This is a light-as-air take on the bizarre worlds of royalty and art which collide with hysterical results.
Early in the movie, Julie has a run-in with an older accomplished actress who gives Julie the chance of a lifetime to take over her role in the newest theatrical Shakespearean adaptation being performed. Julie succeeding (at first) in this part won’t happen so easily, though, as Julie gets cold feet in the interim. Her mentor, a playwright named Jamal, guides her, but she is soon forced to make a decision as to whether or not she can rise to the quality of the art form she has decided to dedicate her skills to perfecting.
Julie is something of a young burst of fresh air as the “King” is intrigued by her commanding presence. She’s not the type to bring sadness to the stage that is prevalent in Shakespeare’s aforementioned tragic play. That gives the opportunity for the script to reach for punches and one-liners as well as parallels between the theater and real-life. As the “King” has a mom who’s certainly overbearing and a few wives to boot, Juliet and the King is a bizarrely entertaining comedy of manners from beginning to end.
There is some imagery that is more than up to the task of setting up the dynamic of an average, but talented, actress who is trying to make her way in the acting world under the most difficult of circumstances. Included are a cat or two in the action as the bond between Jamal and Julie strengthens a bit and also weakens just a tad as Julie is forced to come to terms with her rather ironic and amusing situation.
You can really admire Juliet and the King‘s sense of time and place. We’re drawn into a world where two artists like Jamal and Julie must earn their accolades the hardest way of all as everything that could go wrong does go wrong. Will Julie eventually conquer her fears and stand up to the restrictions that keep her from shining bright on stage? How will she do that and is it really Shakespeare’s play if the material is tampered with to brighten it up?
There is the bond between the Shah (the King) and Julie at the center of the film which is basically there just to allow the humor and thematic material to shine. Julie is presented as naive even though she knows how to traditionally act if given the opportunity. As she and her mentor, Jamal, encounter a slew of obstacles, there’s always Julie’s hopeful outlook on everything to keep her motivated in her chosen profession.
Juliet and the King would be nothing without its hysterical homages to the Bard. Seeing Shakespeare appear as a whiny playwright on-screen makes for some hilarious circumstances at key moments throughout. There is also the fact that Julie is a character who has her own admirable and distinct traits that distinguish her from other folks she surrounds herself with. The contrast between the King and Julie versus the Bard’s scholarly nagging makes for some fun sequences in an enjoyable rendering on the possibilities of bringing a great work to the stage as a crowd pleaser rather than an actual tragedy.
By the film’s end, there is nothing that is really dramatically devastating which happens here. Why would it? This is a comedy, above all else. Still, the movie puts Julie and Jamal into situations that seem dangerous on the surface but usually end up working out OK as is typically the case in a movie like this one.
The King is presented as quirky beyond a reasonable doubt here while Julie is a distinguished woman with a big heart. Everyone else seems to be scrambling for success in this totally wild and unpredictable glimpse inside a world where great art is achieved at its peak in an interpretive way rather than a direct one. You’ll laugh and be entertained by Julie and her experiences in this fast-paced animated curiosity piece.
Rating: 7/10
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