last queen movie review

The Last Queen [2022]: ‘Venice’ Review – A Highly Engrossing Period Drama from Algiers

Modern filmmakers and viewers often feel the need to reinterpret old stories or legends through the prism of contemporary worldview. Sometimes such a reconciliation process shines a light on the underrepresented or hidden aspects of a historical chapter. At other times, the past simply becomes a channel to visualize or speak of contemporary takes on social issues; for instance, Ridley Scott’s #MeToo medieval drama The Last Duel (2021). Algerian filmmakers Damien Ounouri & Adila Bendimerad’s period/costume drama The Last Queen (2022) strike a balance between these two approaches. It’s set in the small Arabian-Berber republic, where liberation from the invaders looked like a possibility. And this was the era before the onslaught of the Ottoman Empire.

The Last Queen unfolds in the pristine Mediterranean port city, in the year 1516. The legend of Queen Zaphira is prevalent in Algerian history, although historians debate over her existence. However, we can’t always trust history when it comes to chronicling the lives of women. Even if Zaphira’s life story is only a legend there is a need for common people to tell such stories. The quiet rebellion, wisdom, and sufferings of Queen Zaphira definitely gain contemporary resonance, especially in a world that lionizes crooks and murderers.

The Last Queen opens in the palace courtyard with King’s wife Zaphira (Adila Bendimerad) recounting the adventurous tale of their people conquering Algiers. They sing songs, there’s delicious food, and the women are having a good time. There’s a passing remark, of course, on how the women are celebrating while Spaniards are gradually invading their lands. Zaphira tells her story to an enraptured audience. This is visually juxtaposed with the bloody battle waged by the Albanian-Greek corsair (pirate) Aruj Barbarossa (Dali Benssalah) against the mighty Spaniards. Aruj, his crude brothers, and an army of battle-hardened men are known for forming alliances and liberating Muslim kingdoms from the European invaders.

The battle-crazed Aruj loses a limb in the battle. But it takes him a while to perceive that as he slashes through a bunch of armored Spaniards guarding the beach. Zaphira loves celebrating the small things in life, she loves her kid Yahia and deep down doesn’t care much about the conquests and pillage of these proud men. The opening scene establishes that The Last Queen is about a conflict between these two wildly different individuals. In fact, at first glance, Zaphira looks anything but powerful. We might wonder what kind of influence can a woman exert in a kingdom that’s ruled by male gatekeepers and where she herself lives under the shadow of the King’s other wives? Zaphira, however, isn’t a passive bystander. She takes charge of her life and fate, though obstacles are aplenty.

King Salim Toumi (Fethi Nouri) makes an alliance with Aruj and easily overcomes their invaders. But once the battle ends, the real problems begin. Aruj and his army of bored, unruly men harbor bigger dreams of conquest. The devious pirate malevolently declares, “I will take his palace, and I will mount his horse and his wife.” Soon, the King is assassinated in the bathtub. Fearing the corsairs’ savagery, the royal women, including Queen Chegga, flee from the city.  Zaphira refuses to go, and she with her son Yahia pay respects to the dead King. Subsequently, Zaphira’s audacious decision to stay garners positive attention from the people. They consider her their queen.

At the same time, it attracts the ire of men, including the ones in the King’s council. Zaphira’s brutish brother also attempts to whisky her away from Algiers, in order to uphold their family’s ‘honor’ and to get her remarried. Nevertheless, Zaphira stubbornly stays in the city and temporarily thwarts the kingdom plans of Aruj. She stalls for time as Queen Chegga reaches out to Zaphira with plans of killing the corsairs. Aruj also makes his move quickly as he asks to marry Zaphira, and calls it the only way to restore peace to Algiers.

The Last Queen is the feature film directorial debut for both Damien Ounouri & Adila Bendimerad. Franco-Algerian filmmaker Ounouri chose to film acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke for his graduation project. The short documentary Xiao Jia Going Home (2007) follows Jia’s journey back to their hometown after winning Golden Lion Award for Still Life (2006) in Venice. Subsequently, Ounouri’s first full-length documentary, Fidai (2012) was co-produced by Jia Zhangke. Ounouri’s co-director, co-writer, and co-producer for The Last Queen, Adila Bendimerad have previously worked with him in the mermaid-themed short Kindil El Bahr (2016). Their shared desire to tell the legend of Zaphira has led to this intimately crafted costume drama and that too from a country that doesn’t have much of a cinema economy.

The Last Queen is a brilliantly grounded drama that largely unfolds from the perspective of women. Visually, the narrative puts the women in the foreground, even though the social and cultural circumstances are such that they are often confined to limited space. Barriers are constantly erected to keep the women in the periphery. Zaphira quietly breaks some of the barriers. But naturally, the treachery of powerful men vows to restrict her movement. There are a lot of shades to Zaphira’s character. She is flawed, naive, compassionate, fierce, and smart. For a woman, whose fate and choices are often offset by other people and external threats, the narrative offers a well-rounded character arc of Zaphira.

Bendimerad and Ounouri showcase the casualties of men’s bloody conflicts over power: women and children. The political and social set-up persistently breaks any possibility of solidarity between women. Zaphira’s friendship with Zokha (wife of a member from King’s council) and what happens to it and Zaphira’s encounters with Astrid (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) are interesting in this context. The former slave Astrid is Aruj’s favorite mistress. Though she is a minor character, her arc was pretty well developed, and it’s devastating to witness what eventually happens to her.

The two brief combat sequences are very well staged. And moreover, the scenes comment on the inherent savagery of the act rather than stylizing it. The commanding screen presence of Adila Bendimerad and Benssalah is such a wonder to behold. At the outset, Aruj is a menacing beast designed for violence and carnage. However, the writers gradually zero in on the character’s small gestures of vulnerability and doubt. Bendimerad’s Zaphira exudes quiet determination which is perfectly antithetical to the mindless thuggery of Aruj.

Overall, The Last Queen (113 minutes) explores the underrepresented chapters of history and offers ample space for expunged perspectives and voices. It’s an intimate and gorgeously shot period piece about a complicated heroic female figure.

La Derniere Reine aka The Last Queen premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival

Read more:  the favourite [2018] review: lives up to its name, the last queen (2022) links: imdb , letterboxd the last queen (2022) cast: adila bendimerad, dali benssalah, nadia tereszkiewicz, fethi nouri, trending right now.

Arun Kumar is an ardent cinebuff, who likes to analyze movie to its minute detail. He believes in the transformative power and shared-dream experience of cinema.

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The Last Queen

Adila Bendimerad (Zephira, the Last Queen) Dali Benssalah (Aroudj Barbarossa) Mohamed Tahar Zaoui (King Salim Toumi) Imen Nouel (Queen Chegga) Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Astrid the Scandinavian) Yanis Aouine (Prince Yahia) Lila Touchi (Yakout, the Company Lady) Mina Lachter (Goussem, the Singer) Tenou Khilouli (Zokha, Zaphira's Friend) Meriem Medjkane (Mouni, Zaphira's Friend)

Adila Bendimerad, Damien Ounouri

Insipired in the legendary Princess Zaphira, wife of the last King of Algiers Salim Toumi, and his fight to defend her community from pirate Barbarossa.

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The Last Queen

Insipired in the legendary Princess Zaphira, wife of the last King of Algiers Salim Toumi, and his fight to defend her community from pirate Barbarossa. Insipired in the legendary Princess Zaphira, wife of the last King of Algiers Salim Toumi, and his fight to defend her community from pirate Barbarossa. Insipired in the legendary Princess Zaphira, wife of the last King of Algiers Salim Toumi, and his fight to defend her community from pirate Barbarossa.

• Adila Bendimerad
• Damien Ounouri
• Dali Benssalah
• Mohamed Tahar Zaoui
• 34 User reviews
• 8 Critic reviews
• 1 win & 2 nominations

• Zephira, the Last Queen

• Aroudj Barbarossa
• King Salim Toumi
• Queen Chegga

• Astrid the Scandinavian
• Prince Yahia
• Yakout, the Company Lady
• (as Leila Touchi)
• Goussem, the Singer
• Zokha, Zaphira's Friend
• Mouni, Zaphira's Friend
• Selma, Tagarine's Friend
• (as Nadjia Laaraf Debbahi)
• Ishak Barberousse
• The Bosnian Pirate
• Prince Farès
• Princess Israa
• Princess Janna
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Filming was interrupted after only two days of shooting on 17 March 2020 due to the pandemic. Shooting resumed in 2021.

User reviews 34

• bsalim-01884
• May 9, 2023
• How long is The Last Queen? Powered by Alexa
• April 19, 2023 (France)
• Saudi Arabia
• Agat Films & Cie
• Centre Algérien de Développement du Cinéma (CADC)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 1 hour 50 minutes

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‘The Last Queen’: Red Sea Review

By Wendy Ide 2022-12-04T16:42:00+00:00

A defiant queen takes a stand in this debut set in 1500s Algeria

Source: Red Sea International Film Festival

‘The Last Queen’

Dir/scr: Damien Ounouri, Adila Bendimerad. Algeria, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Taiwan. 2022. 112mins.

Algeria, 1516. King Salim Toumi (Tahar Zaoui) forms an uneasy truce with the pirate and fearsome warrior Aruj (Dali Benssalah) in order to defeat the Spanish occupiers. But  celebrations are short-lived and King Salim is murdered, throwing the kingdom into turmoil; while most of his court flees, one woman, Salim’s consort Queen Zaphira (Adila Bendimerad) stands firm. A lavish, old fashion epic period drama, the picture is ambitious in scope and polished in execution. Although the filmmaking approach is solidly unsubtle, the female perspective on a traditionally male-dominated historical arena adds to the picture’s appeal, as does the magnetic central performance from Bendimerad, who, in addition to playing Zaphira, co-wrote, co-directed and co-produced.

A rich and opulent spectacle, with gorgeous costumes and ambitious action sequences

The Last Queen is the feature film directing debut of both Ounouri and Bendimerad. Ounouri cut his teeth as a documentary filmmaker, with Xiao Jia Going Home in 2007, and Fidaï , which took home a prize at FEST New Directors/New Films Festival in 2013. He followed this with a mid-length fiction film, Kindil El Bahr, which premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Bendimerad produced and starred in Kindil El Bahr and is perhaps best known for starring in Merzak Allouache’s The Rooftops . After a festival run which started in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori and has taken in the likes of Hamburg, Thessaloniki and Red Sea, theatrically The Last Queen will likely connect most with a domestic audience. Elsewhere, the style of filmmaking may be slightly too mainstream to appeal to the arthouse market, but it could find a warm reception with Algerian diaspora audiences overseas.

The Algerian film industry hit film industry news earlier this year when a collective of Algerian filmmakers, including Ounouri and Bendimerad, signed an open letter calling for the government to release promised funds to support the embattled industry. But if the filmmakers were struggling with funding, there is no sign of it on screen; The Last Queen is a rich and opulent spectacle, with gorgeous costumes, ambitious action sequences and plenty of scimitar-based violence.

When we first meet Zahira – a real-life historical figure, albeit one whose mythic legacy is contested – she is not a particularly politically savvy operator. She pouts and sulks when King Salim announces that he must leave her to take care of matters of state. The king’s other wife, Chegga (Imen Noel) is far more astute about the machinations of power and acts as his advisor. All this changes when Salim dies and Aruj, the dashingly handsome one-armed corsair, takes power.

His aspirations go beyond the crown and extend to the previous king’s wife – he asks for Zahira’s hand in marriage. She risks his wrath by angrily refusing, but one of the film’s most successful elements is the frisson of sexual attraction between Zahira and the man who may or may not have had her king murdered. And while there are pacing issues and the storytelling can be a little exposition-heavy, scenes between Benssalah and Bendimerad – particularly an electrifying moment of verbal jousting while on horseback – are thrilling.

Production company: Agat Films, Taj Intaj

International sales: The Party Sales  [email protected]

Producer: Adila Bendimerad, Patrick Sobelman

Cinematography: Shadi Chaaban

Production design: Feriel Gasmi Issiakhem

Editing: Matthieu Laclau, Yann-Shan Tsai

Music: Evgueni & Sacha Galperine

Main cast: Adila Bendimerad, Dali Benssalah, Tahar Zaoui, Imen Noel, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Yanis Aouine, Ahmed Zitouni, Tarik Bouarrara

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The last queen.

2022 ‘La dernière reine’ Directed by Damien Ounouri , Adila Bendimerad

1516, Legend has it that the king of Algiers had a wife named Zaphira. When the pirate Aroudj Barbarossa arrives to liberate the city from the Spaniards, he is determined to conquer Zaphira as well as the kingdom itself. But is Zaphira willing to let him, or is she plotting for herself?

Adila Bendimerad Dali Benssalah Dimitri Boetto Tahar Zaoui Imen Noel Nadia Tereszkiewicz Yanis Aouine Ahmed Zitouni Tarik Bouarrara Tenou Khilouli Slimane Benouari Halim Zreibi Fethi Nouri Rabih Oudjaout Leila Touchi Mina Lachter Kader Affak

Directors Directors

Damien Ounouri Adila Bendimerad

Producers Producers

Patrick Sobelman Damien Ounouri Roger Huang Jiang-Feng Adila Bendimerad Justine O

Writers Writers

Casting casting.

Fouad Trifi Bilal Hernane

Editors Editors

Matthieu Laclau Yann-Shan Tsai

Cinematography Cinematography

Shadi Chaaban

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Fouad Trifi

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Yacine Laloui

Lighting Lighting

Yacine Boumaraf Badih Mohamed El Amine Mohamed Hedi Louail

Camera Operator Camera Operator

Kader Sid Ali

Art Direction Art Direction

Feriel Gasmi Issiakhem

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Halim Mekhancha

Composers Composers

Evgueni Galperine Sacha Galperine

Sound Sound

Book Chien Mohamed Amine Teggar Dan-feng Li

Costume Design Costume Design

Jean Marc Mirete

Makeup Makeup

Romina Allio

Taj Intaj Agat Films & Cie / Ex Nihilo TAICCA Red Sea Fund

Algeria France Qatar Saudi Arabia Taiwan

Releases by Date

31 aug 2022, 29 jun 2023, 19 apr 2023, 11 aug 2023, 05 jan 2024, 22 aug 2023, releases by country.

• Physical DVD & Blu-Ray
• Premiere SAFAR Film Festival

110 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

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Review by pommes_fukck 2

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Il manque à ce beau film ambitieux le budget nécessaire pour être le blockbuster historique qu’il méritait d’être, et ça se voit à l’écran. Adila Bendimerad et Dali Benssalah crèvent l’écran, alors que le reste du casting traîne la patte loin derrière. Un film déséquilibré à plusieurs niveaux, donc. Mais j’aimerais tellement qu’il soit un beau succès, ne serait-ce que pour que les producteurs arrêtent d’être frileux et financent enfin largement ce type de projet.

Review by Mehdi 🦊 ★★★★½ 4

Étant moi-même algérien, il était important pour moi d'aller voir ce film, il faut soutenir ce genre de films au cinéma si on veut en voir plus du genre.

Le film se passe en 1516 à Alger, le pirate Aroudj Barberousse et ses hommes prennent le pouvoir après avoir libéré Alger des espagnols, la femme du roi Salim le soupçonne d'avoir tué son mari alors qu'ils étaient en alliance.

Le film a pas un énorme budget (2 500 00) mais purée, qu'est-ce qu'ils sont bien rentabilisé, le film est magnifique, les tenues traditionnelles pareil et certains décors m'ont vraiment ébloui.

Je pourrais aussi parler des acteurs qui dans l'ensemble sont tous bons, j'en ai trouvé aucun mauvais, même l'enfant qui…

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Words can not express how excited/terrified of being disappointed i am for this movie

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what a slayqueen

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Review by imrane ★★★

Ça fait chaud au coeur de voir ENFIN un film d’époque sur l’Algérie et les musulmans. Les décors et les costumes étaient vraiment beaux à voir et c’est ce qui m’a fait le plus plaisir je pense !

Review by Mary Jane ★★★½

Algeria has cinema after all.

Review by cilimastation - سيليماستايشون ★★★★

The Last Queen , from the power-duo Damien Ounouri and Adila Bendimerad , is an impressive narrative feature directorial debut that manages to take us on a trip back in time to an era of Algerian history that we've never seen portrayed on the big screen before.

Set against the backdrop of The Regency of Algiers in the 1500s, this lavish period piece unapologetically tells us a story that exists somewhere between the truth and the legend of Lalla Zaphira , wife of Emir Salim al-Toumi , and her vicious fight to maintain her rule over the royal court of Algiers after the sudden murder of her husband, which left her having to carefully deal with notorious corsair Arudj Barberousse and his attempts at…

Review by [wassim] ★★★★

need more algerian stories of this kind and scale. more queens, more kings, more girlboss warriors, more mischievous pirates and more eras of history. give it to me NOW. DO QUEEN DIHYA KAHINA NEXT!

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VENICE 2022 Giornate degli Autori

Review: The Last Queen

by  Vittoria Scarpa

05/09/2022 - VENICE 2022: Duo Adila Bendimerad and Damien Ounouri make their feature film debut with a movie looking back on an historic event in 16th century Algeria from a female perspective

It’s into an unseen version of Algeria at the beginning of the fifteen hundreds that The Last Queen   [ + see also: trailer interview: Adila Bendimerad, Damien Ou… interview: Damien Ounouri film profile ] - the first work co-directed by Algerian director-actress Adila Bendimerad and French-Algerian director Damien Ounouri - immerses us, veering between refined courtly life and bloody battles, regal splendour and struggles to the death. Presented in competition at the 19 th Giornate degli Autori , unfolding within the 79 th Venice Film Festival , it’s an ambitious film - despite it’s low budget – and a very human historical drama, which depicts power struggles and political alliances and betrayals from the viewpoint of a woman and mother: the legendary Queen Zaphira.

It’s 1516 and Algeria is occupied by the Spanish. Ferocious pirate Aroudj Barbarossa ( Dali Benssalah ) turns up to fight to help liberate the city, as he previously has with his pirate companions in other parts of the country. Whilst, on the battlefield, we see violence explode and blood spray, in the luxurious surrounds of the palace Zaphira (played by Bendimerad herself), who is wife to King Salim Toumi ( Tahar Zaoui ), enjoys the company of her friends and cares lovingly for her son. We soon gather than the queen is a passionate and strong-minded woman, even when it comes to claiming her rights as wife to the king, her husband, who deserts the marital bed all too often in order to take care of Algeria’s future.

After finally defeating the invader, Barbarossa strikes a pact of alliance with King Salim, and rises to power. But the savage pirate’s intentions seem to extend much further: “I will take his palace, I will mount his horse, and his wife", he declares to his crew. Indeed, shortly thereafter the king is mysteriously assassinated in his hammam, and Barbarossa immediately asks Zaphita to be his wife. But the beautiful queen breaks the mould and goes against her own family, opposing the destiny that’s written for her and fighting tooth and nail to prevent them from taking her adored son away.

A pulsating portrait of a heroine from the past, a character who’s part-real, part-legend on account of Zaphira’s existence never having been ascertained, The Last Queen boasts sumptuous period costumes and sets, well-choreographed fight sequences (notably the cruel yet sensual physical confrontation between Zaphira and Aroudj) and strong-willed female characters ( Imen Noel also deserves a mention as the king’s other wife Chegga, as does Nadia Tereszkiewicz in the role of Astrid “the Scandinavian”), all amidst a backdrop of flesh, blood and bones. It’s a Shakespearian tragedy, of sorts, which is made with passion and sheds fascinating light on a period in Algerian history never before explored in film.

The Last Queen is produced by Algeria’s Taj Intaj alongside French firm Agat Films , in co-production with CADC (the Algerian Centre for Film Development), Birth, Orange Studio , Long Hu Bao International Entertainment, TAICCA (Taiwan Creative Content Agency), Taiwan’s international co-funding programme, and The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation. International sales are steered by The Party Film Sales .

(Translated from Italian)

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more about: The Last Queen

Interview: Adila Bendimerad, Damien Ounouri • Directors of The Last Queen

"It's a story that the Algerians have never seen before and which they need in order to dig deep into their history and culture"

VENISE 2022: The directing duo straddles reality and legend as it retraces a historical event from 16th-century Algeria from Queen Zaphira's perspective   

Interview: Damien Ounouri • Director

"I will take his palace, ride his horse, and his wife"

We met up with Damien Ounouri to chat about his project The Last Queen at the Cinemed Meetings   

The first edition of the C-MOVIE Film Festival gets ready to unspool in Rimini

Running 20 to 23 March, the gathering will showcase avant-garde films exploring female themes in an innovative and engaging fashion   

07/03/2024 | Festivals | Awards | Italy

REPORT: Cinemed Meetings 2023

Spotlight on the 14 projects battling it out for the 33rd Development Grant at the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival   

24/10/2023 | Cinemed 2023 | Cinemed Meetings

EXCLUSIVE: Hiam Abbass and Dali Benssalah are filming Meursault contre-enquête

Nabil Asli, Amina Ben Ismaïl, Raphaël Thiéry and Grégoire Monsaingeon also star in Malek Bensmaïl’s first fiction film, steered by Tita B Productions and Hikayet Films   

02/10/2023 | Production | Funding | France/Algeria/Belgium/Switzerland

EXCLUSIVE: Final preparations for Barbès d’or by Hassan Guerrar

Filming begins on 7 August with Sofiane Zermani, Khalil Gharbia, Khaled Benaissa, Adila Bendimerad, Eye Haïdara, Clotilde Courau, and Soolking in the cast; the film is produced by East Films and...   

13/07/2023 | Production | Funding | France

Interview: Christophe Leparc • Director, Cinemed

"The first necessity is to make audiences return to cinemas"

EXCLUSIVE: Shooting imminent on Emmanuel Courcol’s En fanfare

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The Last Queen is about a queen who lost everything but never gave up. It is about her struggle, her loyalty, and her sacrifices. It is especially about motherhood and the amount of love a woman carries and spreads during her entire lifetime. The Last Queen showcases some beautiful scenes from history. This is a solid 10/10 movie. 

Spoilers Ahead

Who Is Zaphira, And How Is She Related To Salim?

The Last Queen starts with Zaphira, the second queen, reciting a past incident to all the ladies in her gathering. Zaphira is asking her son, Yahia, to go and start living with his father, Salim. Salim is the king of the Thalibbi community. Yahia agrees to go with Salim. He gifts him a dagger. This dagger was given to him by Salim’s father [Yahia’s grandfather]. Zaphira is sad because Yahia will be living with his stepmother and siblings instead of his own mother. There is an argument between Salim and Zaphira because Salim is not able to spend enough time with her. She feels neglected and alone. Zaphira feels she no longer belongs there and wants to return to her father’s place, but Salim commands her to stay. 

There is a group of men at Algiers discussing making an alliance with their rival, the Aruj. There seems to be a conflict among people in terms of their opinions. But Salim wants all of them to fight together in order to protect the country. Salim is not able to make a decision on which path to choose. He has to either negotiate the terms of the alliance with Aruj or pass his decision to the force at the next council. Salim is speaking to his first wife, Chegga, and asking, Where did he go wrong in protecting his country?? But Chegga explains to him that he did everything that was needed, and the rest is in God’s hands now. 

A year later, preparations have begun for the war. The men of Algiers are making the plan to attack the Aruj before they attack them. The entire plan is set and executed to attack the Arujs after the morning prayer. Exactly a few hours before sunrise, the Algiers are praying to their God. May the best win!

Meanwhile, the women are praying for the victory of their husbands. The war has started. Yahia argues with Zaphira to go and fight in the war. He wants to support his father. But the war is turning into a gruesome scene. The Algiers have won and killed each and every member of Aruj. 

Is This Alliance A Good Thing? 

Chegga is making sure that the King knows what to do next. He needs to be calm and composed. Salim has asked Zaphira to allow them to have a better and fresher start for their future. Aruj has come to Salim’s place to make a negotiation, as Salim and his army have defeated them in the war. Salim has negotiated, and Aruj and Algiers will be going ahead as one army now. Aruj and his army are not very happy with the alliance, but they are just pretending. The King of Aruj is planning to take over the place, his wife, and his horse. Zaphira is having the best time of her life. She feels happy, but suddenly he is shocked to know that Aruj is planning to do all of this. 

Aruj explains his plan to Salim to expand his cannons on land through sails. Salim asks Aruj to explain to his men how to behave properly. This is a palace, not a forest. Meanwhile, Zaphira is getting ready for Salim. There are a few romantic moments between Salim and Zaphina where he confesses his love to her when, all of a sudden, Salim is lying dead on the ground. Zaphira screams, and suddenly she wakes up and realizes it was a nightmare. She considers the dream a bad omen and decides to go see Salim herself. But the queen is not allowed to step at night; hence, the guard decides to go and check himself. But Zaphira still finds all the ways she can reach Salim, but the security does not allow her. It turns out her dream was true; Salim has been killed by them. Everybody is trying to evacuate from the palace and reach somewhere safe. But Zaphira is not able to find Yahia. She sees that his dagger is with Chegga’s son, and she feels like he has been killed too. 

Is Yahia Alive? 

Chegga explains to Zaphira that they are sisters and widows now. They have to stick to each other in order to protect their kids. Despite everyone warning Zaphira, she goes all the way to find her son. Aruj is telling everyone that Salim should take care of the place, but the people of Algeria say they have a democracy. The decision needs to be made with the words and opinions of people. Zaphira has finally united with Yahia. She feels delighted to have her son alive. The same incident happened as Zaphira saw in the dream. Salim was strangled to death while he was busy taking his bath. All the people of Algiers have gathered to perform the last rites, along with Zaphira and Yahia. 

Zaphira has lost all her hopes. She is in mourning but has no clue what is written in her destiny. She receives a letter from her father saying he wants her to come back to their place. Even Yahia is too young, and she needs to be protected. It is a word of honor now. Zaphira writes back to her father, saying that Yahia needs to grow up here and in between the people of Algiers. If God forbids, he will be a king like Salim and rule the palace. Yahia will be her only guardian. Aruj has sent a gift for Zaphira, which she refuses to accept as she is in mourning. She sends back a word to Aruj, saying that the only master she will ever obey is the almighty God. 

Will Aruj Win Zaphira? 

Aruj and his slave are having a discussion about how he should destroy Zaphira. She is like a queen to the people of Algiers now. Everybody is very supportive of Zaphira because she decided to stay with the people despite Salim’s death. 

Zaphira and all the people of Algiers are being restricted from entering the palace. Aruj comes ahead and tells everyone that nobody can stop them from entering the palace. Aruj comes ahead and asks Zaphira to make an alliance with them. He also insists on marrying Zaphira and taking over as king. She tells them that she cannot accept this proposal as Aruj is the one who killed Salim, and if she married him, then this is going to be a sin in the eyes of God. 

Aruj promises Zaphira to investigate and find the murderer of Salim’s death, and he is sad because Zaphira thinks he is the one. Aruj’s slave is mad at him because she is unaware of the strategy. She thinks he is actually going to marry her. 

Chegga has come to meet Zaphira and tells her that they are planning an attack on Aruj. They want to win the palace. Chegga asks Zaphira to marry Aruj and kill him on the wedding night. This is the only way to win back the palace and protect the people of Algiers. 

Aruj has managed to bring innocent people to Salim as murderers, and he is going to publicly strangle them. Zaphira cannot take this anymore. She has decided to marry Aruj. 

Will Zaphira Manage To Kill Aruj? 

All the preparations have begun. Zaphira is very careful with each and every step she takes. Meanwhile, Chegga is preparing her men to attack Aruj, his brother, and his men during the time of prayer. Zaphira’s brothers have come all the way to see her, which makes her happy. But she gets the news that her father has been dead and immediately faints. She was in mourning after one death and another knocked on her door. Zaphira is not able to explain to her brothers why she is marrying Aruj. They feel that she is a woman who has no shame, and hence they are taking Yahia with them. Zaphira has killed her own brother because she wants Yahia to stay with her. There is a mehfil outside because of the marriage among people, but Aruj is worried. He informs his men to be very careful and that the protection needs to be doubled. Chegga writes to her that if she and her men fail this Friday, then Zaphira is their last hope. She has to kill Aruj. Unfortunately, Chegga and all of his men are killed by Aruj and his men. 

What Will Zaphira Do? 

When Zaphira is out with Yahia, she is attacked by her brothers. But she manages to run away into the woods. Aruj comes and saves her from getting killed. There is a heated argument between them that leads to the conclusion that Zaphira will only marry him if Yahia comes home alive. There is a rising enemies-to-lovers troupe between Zaphira and Aruj. Zaphira has found Yahia, and they are peacefully playing by the river. But Yahia tries to run away with Zaphira’s brother. When Aruj’s brother watches that, he tries to stop them and accidentally ends up shooting Yahia. Yahia’s little friend watches all this, and she runs to inform Zaphira. She gives her his clothes and tells her that she is speaking the truth. 

What Happens To Zaphira? 

Zaphira is going out of control. She does not know where to put her anger. She kills the Aruj’s slave and is screaming and shouting like a madwoman. Zaphira is getting ready for the marriage despite the circumstances. Aruj comes begging Zaphira to ask her for a second chance and to start a new chapter in their lives. They both fight, struggle, and make love at the same time. Aruj tells her to kill him if that’s what she wants. But she tells him that she wants to see his empire collapse. She stabs the knife in her throat and ends up killing herself. During her last breath, she thinks of all the moments with Yahia where she felt happy. She tells Aruj that he is also disappearing along with her. Aruj carries her body and cries in pain. Before dying, Aruj gives the palace keys to his brother. Algiers are still known for their bravery and land of God. Queen Zaphira is still remembered as the last queen. 

• The Last Queen

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‘Queen Marie’ Review: A Well-Dressed but Deadly Dull Historical Primer on Romania’s Last Queen

Alexis Sweet Cahill's stuffy biopic finds a feminist angle on the Romanian monarch's role in the post-WWI Parisian peace talks, but it's not exactly rousing.

By Guy Lodge

Film Critic

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On an official visit to lobby for international support of her beleaguered country amid the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Queen Marie of Romania expresses her frustration that the press coverage is focused not on her efforts at diplomacy, but her extravagant wardrobe and packed social diary. “I suppose if I wish to be heard, I must first allow myself to be seen,” she sighs. Alexis Sweet Cahill ‘s carefully ironed biopic “Queen Marie” fancies itself a corrective to such misogyny, offering the British-born monarch belated recognition of her contributions towards the eventual unification of Romania.

So why does the film still feel, as it drifts glacially by over the better part of two hours, like a record of the fabulous things she wore, and the famous people she met, on this tour? “Queen Marie” is dutiful in noting its subject’s accomplishments, but strangely negligent of her personality: Played with exacting decorum but little mirth or fervor by Roxana Lupu , she’s never quite a character, but a critical figure in a well-constructed historical diorama. Cahill’s film is something of an oddity from a country best known cinematically for the fresh, furious sociopolitical currency of its 21st-century “new wave.” If nothing else, “Queen Marie” proves that the Romanian industry can churn out stodgy, attractively decorated Europuddings with the best of them, but it’s hard to see who the audience for this multilingual snoozer might be.

Things start unprepossessingly, with newsreel footage under robotic narration, detailing the turbulent plight of Romania in the First World War — during which time the country’s royal family was forced to take refuge in Moldavia, where the Queen and her daughters labored as military nurses. If this sounds like rather good fodder for a movie, “Queen Marie” is insistent that the real drama was yet to come, introducing the family in strained but slightly less panicked times: The war is over, Romania has united with Transylvania and other neighboring regions, and the campaign for international aid for the larger nation can begin in earnest.

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The obstacles, as presented in a labored, exposition-clogged screenplay, neatly take the form of three major powers. U.S. president Woodrow Wilson (Patrick Drury), French prime minister Georges Clemenceau (Ronald Chenery) and British prime minister David Lloyd George (Richard Elfyn) are presented as united in their skepticism of the new, improved Romania. The Romanian counterpart, prime minister Ion Bratianu, has failed to get through to them: Time, then, for a royal intervention, as the doughty Marie resolves to represent her country at the upcoming Paris peace talks, and secure an audience with these fusty male gatekeepers.

This feminist framing of the narrative lends a clear storytelling hook to a pretty dry chapter of history, though it elides a few political complexities — not least among them some governmental discord over sending the country’s Queen to do a politician’s job. “Royalties don’t meddle in politics, they are separate businesses,” Marie is told. The script invites us to share her consternation at this sentiment, though any republican-minded members of the audience would be hard-pressed to disagree. But meddle she does, across a procession of highly starched official appointments that, from a dramatic perspective, rather blur into one.

They do, however, afford a generous showcase to Norma Demitrescu and Laura Russu’s lavish production design, to say nothing of the dazzling array of feathered hats, baroquely patterned shawls and pearls rustled up by costume designers Claudia Bunea and Ana Ioneci. Yet the spectacle only goes so far when the writing — often hopping randomly and inelegantly between accented English and Romanian — is this stiff. This is the kind of historical drama where characters have a habit of speaking in helpful factual parentheticals (“She’s nothing like her grandmother, Queen Victoria”) or unconvincing pomposities (“And now the whole future of greater Romania is at stake!”), rarely saying anything that isn’t immediately and clunkily on-topic.

Sporadic distractions from Marie’s Parisian machinations come in the form of updates on her domestic tensions with husband King Ferdinand (Daniel Plier), fretfully and ineffectively waiting in Bucharest, and their rebellious adult sons. None of this is especially fascinating either, given that the script affords these men even less inner life than it does Marie, while their wardrobe is rather less exciting. Most viewers are likely to leave “Queen Marie” knowing more about the eponymous monarch than they did before, but with precious little inclination to learn much more.

Reviewed online, London, May 6, 2021. Running time: 110 MIN. (Original title: "Queen Marie of Romania")

• Production: (Romania) A Samuel Goldwyn Films release of an Abis Studio presentation. Producers: Gabi Antal, Radu Apostolescu. Executive producer: Costin Rantes.
• Crew: Director: Alexis Sweet Cahill. Screenplay: Brigitte Rodtloff, Maria-Denise Theodoru. Camera: Gabriel Cosuth. Editor: Theodora Penciu. Music: Giancarlo Russo.
• With: Roxana Lupu, Daniel Plier, Patrick Drury, Ronald Chenery, Adrian Titieni, Anghel Damian, Richard Elfyn, Caroline Loncq. (English, Romanian, French, German dialogue)

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• Micro review: 'The Last Queen' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Micro review: 'The Last Queen' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Last Queen: The Captivating Story of Rani Jindan Kaur

The novel brings to life the youngest queen of the greatest Sikh ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Daughter of a kennel keeper, Jindan Kaur became a member of the royalty, gave birth to the King’s heir, found love again after she was widowed at 21, and valiantly fought the British

The Last Queen, By Chitra Banerjee  Divakaruni,  HarperCollins India, pp. 372, Rs 599

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2006, Biography/Drama, 1h 41m

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Critics Consensus

Full of wit, humor, and pathos, Stephen Frears' moving portrait looks at life of the British royals during the period after Princess Diana's death. Read critic reviews

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The queen   photos.

Following the death of Princess Diana in an auto accident, Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) and Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) struggle to reach a compromise in how the royal family should publicly respond to the tragedy. In the balance is the family's need for privacy and the public's demand for an outward show of mourning.

Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language)

Genre: Biography, Drama, History

Original Language: English

Director: Stephen Frears

Producer: Andy Harries , Christine Langan , Tracey Seaward

Writer: Peter Morgan

Release Date (Theaters): Sep 30, 2006  limited

Release Date (Streaming): Aug 26, 2016

Box Office (Gross USA): $56.4M

Runtime: 1h 41m

Distributor: Miramax Films

Production Co: Pathé Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions

Cast & Crew

Helen Mirren

HM Queen Elizabeth II

Michael Sheen

James Cromwell

Prince Philip

Helen McCrory

Cherie Blair

Alex Jennings

Prince Charles

Roger Allam

Robin Janvrin

Sylvia Syms

HM The Queen Mother

Mark Bazeley

Alastair Campbell

Earl Cameron

Portrait artist

Tim McMullan

Stephen Lamport

Paul Barrett

Trevor Rees-Jones

Secret Service Agent

Stephen Frears

Peter Morgan

Andy Harries

Christine Langan

Tracey Seaward

François Ivernel

Executive Producer

Cameron McCracken

Scott Rudin

Affonso Beato

Cinematographer

Set Decoration

Consolata Boyle

Costume Design

Lucia Zucchetti

Film Editing

Alexandre Desplat

Original Music

Alan MacDonald

Production Design

Peter Wenham

Art Director

Matthew Broderick

News & Interviews for The Queen

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Critic Reviews for The Queen

Audience reviews for the queen.

While it was good acting, casting, etc, I found the story to be biased in several ways. First of all, the fact that it was set during a very specific time. Less than a year, to be specific. This woman was (and still is, mind you) the Queen during amazing times of the 20th century and *that's* what is highlighted? No offense to Diana, of course, I do she think she was a lovely person. But I felt it was unfair to the Queen to an extent. Yes, these sentiments were expressed some, but everything made her look just *so* antiquated. Since then this woman has also met Lady Gaga. Then again, this is the trouble with making biopics of people, most of which are still alive and in power.

You don't have to know much about the government or politics to enjoy this well directed, brilliantly acted and finely scripted movie.

The sudden death of Princess Di, the worldwide outpouring of public grief, and a vicious intruding media force the British Royal Family to kowtow to public opinion. An ugly affair all ways round told in the hushed tones that is the world of polite society. Good performances, necessary since all those portrayed are still alive and very public figures. Mirren took the Oscar for her portrayal of a soul trained all her life not to react for the life of a nation and then demanded to react by that same nation.

Mirren and Sheen give impressive Oscar worthy performances in a movie about a lot more than a monarchy. Many interesting questions asked, mostly involving Princess Diana. I am reminded of The King's Speech.

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The Last Queen  (2022)  La dernière reine

• 110 minutes
• Release Date: 4 September 2022 (Italy) (more)
• Genre: Drama (more)

A historical adventure film that revolves around the legendary Princess Zaphira, who is the wife of the last king of Algeria, Salim at-Toumi, who struggled against the pirate Barberousse.

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A historical adventure film that revolves around the legendary Princess Zaphira, who is the wife of the last king of Algeria, Salim at-Toumi, who struggled against the pirate ...Read more Barberousse.

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The opening shots of Stephen Frears ' "The Queen" simply show Helen Mirren's face as her character prepares for it to be seen. She is Queen Elizabeth II, and we know that at once. The resemblance is not merely physical, but embodies the very nature of the Elizabeth we have grown up with -- a private woman who takes her public role with great gravity.

Elizabeth is preparing to meet Tony Blair ( Michael Sheen ), the new Labor prime minister who has just been elected in a landslide. We see Blair preparing for the same meeting. His election was a fundamental upheaval of British political life after Thatcherism, and at that time, Britain stood on a threshold of uncertain but possibly tumultuous change.

Within months, the queen and Blair find themselves in a crisis that involves not politics but a personal tragedy that was completely unforeseen -- the death of Diana, princess of Wales, in a Paris car crash. "The Queen" tells the story of how her death with her boyfriend, the playboy department store heir Dodi Fayed , would threaten to shake the very monarchy itself.

Told in quiet scenes of proper behavior and guarded speech, "The Queen" is a spellbinding story of opposed passions -- of Elizabeth's icy resolve to keep the royal family separate and aloof from the death of the divorced Diana, who was legally no longer a royal, and of Blair's correct reading of the public mood, which demanded some sort of public expression of sympathy from the crown for "The People's Princess."

It was extraordinary, the grief that people felt after her death. I was reminded of the weeks after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Was it out of proportion to Diana's objective importance? She was a young woman almost cynically picked for her marriage, who provided the crown with its required heirs, who was a photogenic escort for Prince Charles, who found no love from her husband; it was no secret they both had affairs during their marriage. Once divorced, she made peculiar dating choices.

She died in a late-night crash while being pursued by paparazzi. Yet it was as if a saint had been taken from our midst. Yes, Diana devoted much time to doing good. Yes, I believe she was sincere. But doing good was part of her job description; she signed on for it. In death, she had the same impact as if a great national hero had died.

"The Queen" is told almost entirely in small scenes of personal conflict. It creates an uncanny sense that it knows what goes on backstage in the monarchy; in the movie, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and the Queen Mother have settled into a sterile domesticity cocooned by servants and civil servants. It shows Tony and Cherie Blair ( Helen McCrory ) in their own bourgeois domestic environment. Both households, privately, are plain-spoken to the point of bluntness, and Cherie is more left wing than her husband, less instinctively awed by the monarchy, more inclined to dump the institution.

What Tony clearly sees is that the monarchy could be gravely harmed, if not toppled, by the Queen's insistence on sticking to protocol and not issuing a statement about Diana. The press demands that Elizabeth fly the flag at half-mast as a symbolic gesture at Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth stands firm. The palace will not acknowledge the death or sponsor the funeral.

"The Queen" comes down to the story of two strong women loyal to the doctrines of their beliefs about the monarchy, and a man who is much more pragmatic. The queen is correct, technically, in not lowering the flag to half-mast -- it is not a national flag, but her own, flown only when she is in residence. But Blair is correct that the flag has become a lightning rod for public opinion. The queen is correct, indeed, by tradition and history in all she says about the affair -- but she is sadly aloof from the national mood. Well, maybe queens should be.

Certainly that's what the Queen Mum thinks. Played by Sylvia Syms , she is shown at 90-plus years, still tart and sharp-witted. At the last minute, the palace needs a protocol plan for the funeral, and time is so short that the Queen Mum's own funeral plan has to be borrowed and modified. Syms has a priceless reaction where she learns that her honor guard, all servicemen, will be replaced by celebrities -- even, gasp, Elton John .

"The Queen" could have been told as a scandal sheet story of celebrity gossip. Instead, it becomes the hypnotic tale of two views of the same event -- a classic demonstration, in high drama, of how the Establishment has been undermined by publicity. I think it possible that Thatcher, if she still had been in office, might have supported the Queen. That would be impossible to the populist Blair.

Stephen Frears, the director, has made several wonderful films about conflicts and harmonies in the British class system (" My Beautiful Laundrette ," " Dirty Pretty Things ," " Prick Up Your Ears "), and "The Queen," of course, represents the ultimate contrast. No one is more upper class than the queen, and Tony Blair is profoundly middle class.

The screenplay is intense, focused, literate, observant. The dynamic between Elizabeth and Philip ( James Cromwell ), for example, is almost entirely defined by decades of what has not been said between them -- and what need not be said. There are extraordinary, tantalizing glimpses of the "real" Elizabeth driving her own Range Rover, leading her dogs, trekking her lands at Balmoral -- the kind of woman, indeed, who seems more like Camilla Parker-Bowles than Diana.

Mirren is the key to it all in a performance sure to be nominated for an Oscar. She finds a way, even in a "behind the scenes" docudrama, to suggest that part of her character will always be behind the scenes. What a masterful performance, built on suggestion, implication and understatement. Her queen in the end authorizes the inevitable state funeral, but it is a tribute to Mirren that we have lingering doubts about whether, objectively, it was the right thing. Technically, the queen was right to consider the divorced Diana no longer deserving (by her own choice) of a royal funeral. But in terms of modern celebrity worship, Elizabeth was wrong. This may or may not represent progress.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Cristina escobar, film credits.

The Queen (2006)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

103 minutes

Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II

Michael Sheen as Tony Blair

James Cromwell as Prince Philip

Sylvia Syms as Queen Mother

Paul Barrett as Trevor Rees-Jones

Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair

Directed by

• Stephen Frears
• Peter Morgan

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The Last Queen Hardcover – January 5, 2021

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Print length 372 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Harper Collins
• Publication date January 5, 2021
• Dimensions 7.8 x 5.08 x 0.75 inches
• ISBN-10 9390351952
• ISBN-13 978-9390351954
• See all details

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About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Collins; 1st edition (January 5, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 372 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9390351952
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9390351954
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.8 x 5.08 x 0.75 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #997,304 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books )

About the author

Chitra banerjee divakaruni.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is the award-winning author of 18 books. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her work has been published in over 100 magazines and anthologies and translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. She has won numerous awards, including an American

Book Award and the internation Premio Scanno Prize. Divakaruni also writes for children and young adults.

Her latest novel is Oleander Girl (Simon and Schuster, 2013). Her upcoming novel is Before We Visit the Goddess (about 3 generations of women-- grandmother, mother and daughter-- who each examine the question "what does it mean to be a successful woman." April 2016, Simon & Schuster.)

Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have been optioned. Her collection of stories, Arranged Marriage has been made into a play.

She was born in India and came to the United States to continue her education, receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

She currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston, organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women in abusive situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.

She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.

She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy and has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).

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