Daniel Plier

A common sarcasm to express disbelief is “Right. And I’m the Queen of Romania.” Queen Marie of Romania, about a moment in the popular queen’s life, does not shed light on that idiom — or much clarity about Romania or World War I or the 1919 Peace Talks in Vienna or the queen herself.

Why the saying “Yeah, and I’m the Queen of Romania” became a punchline remains unknown, but it just might be because the last crowned queen of Romania was an outsized personality with mad diplomatic skills and a wild love life. And great clothes. Queen Marie of Romania, from co-directors Alexis Cahill and Brigitte Drodtloff, focuses on a particular period in the royal’s life — just after World War I. Marie was instrumental in the country entering the war, and Romania took a beating in the conflict.