''Carol I'', also known as ''Charles I: A Destiny'' and ''Charles I: A Destiny for Romania'', is a 2009 historical documentary film by

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n director

Sergiu Nicolaescu Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu (; 13 April 1930 – 3 January 2013) was a Romanian film director, actor and politician. He was best known for his historical films, such as '' Mihai Viteazul'' (1970, released in English both under the equivalent tit ...

, starring

, Razvan Vasilescu and Cristian Motiu. ''Carol I'' is one of the few Romanian films to portray the Romanian King Carol I. The king was also portrayed in the 1912 film '' Independenţa României'' (''The Independence of Romania''), directed by Aristide Demetriade, and in the 2007 film "The Rest is Silence". The director of ''Carol I'',

, previously played Carol I in his 1977 film, ''Pentru patrie''.

Plot

The film begins in the summer of 1914. At 75 years of age, King Carol I, the founder of modern

, is living a quiet life at the

Peleș Castle Peleș Castle ( ro, Castelul Peleș ) is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914. Its inaugu ...

. He has by his side Queen Elisabeth, his devoted wife and friend. The king faces the pains of age with sobriety, although these do not compare to his moral dilemma. Carol I is in a tough position; his family roots dictate that he should enter

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

alongside the German Empire and the

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, but public opinion calls for Romania to remain

neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

. The king plays his last card in the Crown Council. He tries to persuade the representatives of the people to enter the war alongside the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

References

External links

* {{Sergiu Nicolaescu Films directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu Romanian historical films 2009 films 2000s historical films 2009 documentary films Romanian documentary films 2000s Romanian-language films