The King's Daughter

Based on the novel "The Moon and the Sun" by Vonda N. McIntyre, The King's Daughter is a historical-fantasy film about Marie-Josèphe, a free-spirited young woman who was raised in a convent, unaware that she's the secret daughter of Louis XIV, King of France. Marie-Josèphe is brought to court at a time when King Louis is feeling the cold breath of mortality and wants to connect with her.

At the same time, King Louis is trying to prevent his own death. Following the advice of his doctor, King Louis has had his people capture a mythical mermaid from the ocean. It is said that if the mermaid's heart is cut out during an eclipse, her magical life force will grant immortality to one person. As the days count down towards the eclipse, Marie-Josèphe discovers and bonds with the captured mermaid, and is determined to find a way to set her free.

It's a pretty straightfoward fantasy-history film, with the mermaid being more of a MacGuffin in Marie-Josèphe and King Louis' story. The mermaid sings a little and speaks telepathically with those she chooses, but that's about it. The mermaid herself is almost entirely CGI, and she has scale-like skin, a leaf-shaped tail and (unusually) long fin-like arms. Fan Bingbing provided motion capture footage for the animation of the mermaid. Marie-Josèphe, played by Kaya Scodelario, swims with the mermaid in a few scenes, and at the end of the movie there's a glimpse of the mermaid's underwater home of Atlantis.