The King’s Speech

This movie is on code. Western world’s cultural fault line is between militarism and piece, Rome and Jesus, center and periphery. King’s Speech pits the English monarch George VI, who has only has symbolic power aided by a “common man” against a centralizing, militaristic, fascist dictator (Hitler) who has all the power an industrial nation can give him.

I like to think every good movie has a moment which culminates the movie’s entire message. And that moment for KS is George VI watching Hitler at one of his rallies, and commenting “whatever he is saying, he is saying it very well”. The obvious contrast was made between him and Hitler – on one side there is George VI a stuttering king on the defense, and a beligerent demagogue who soon will be on the offense.

The movie plays on the cultural fault line very well, and is smart, entertaining as well.

All those Nazi soldiers with their Roman, sorry Nazi salute walking past Hitler is a scary sight indeed, no matter how many times you see it.