"The King's Speech"

"The King's Speech" is a very good film, not only for lovers of British history. The film, which was directed by Tom Hooper, tells the story of George VI, the father of the current Queen of the UK, Elizabeth II. If you are a bit interested in the history of the UK, you must have heard about the story which appalled the British society in the second half of the 1930s. In 1936 Edward VIII became king. As king, he could not get married to his fiancee, Wallis Simpson, an American who had divorced twice before. The king decided to abdicate and George VI succeeded to the throne. The king was a very shy man, whose terrible stutter made it impossible for him to give a speech. The film shows the king's trials to overcome his shyness, take control over his voice and become a great convincing speaker. The king seeks help of an Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. The film's climax is the king's speech on Britain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. The film stars Colin Firth in the leading role of king George VI and Helena Bonham Carter, playing the king's wife, Elizabeth. To my mind, one person more definitely must be singled out - an American actor, Geoffrey Rush, who is outstanding in his role of the speech therapist. If you are not convinced yet to see the film, know that the film received 12 Oscar nominations, which was an achievement without precedent. The film got the Academy Award for the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Firth) and Best Original Screenplay (written by David Seidler).
The film, which is really convincing, sometimes funny and moving, amazes with its actors' acting and authenticity of set design. In my view, "The King's Speech" is definitely worth seeing.
Watch the film's trailer to get a glimpse of the extraordinary atmosphere of the movie :

In my next post you will find a listening exercise concerning the trailer.