Directed by Sean McNamara, in 1684 France, Louis XIV, played by Pierce Brosnan, – the Sun King – is the most powerful monarch on the planet.
His birthday and a rare solar eclipse are approaching, and he’s worried about the future of France. His spiritual advisor, Père La Chaise, played by William Hurt, comforts him.
His physician, Dr. Labarthe, played by Pablo Schreiber, informs him that scientists believe mermaids contain a life force that grants immortality.
Louis commissions Yves, a young sea captain played by Benjamin Walker, to search the North Seas for the heretofore-mythical sea creature.
Meanwhile, to help pay off war debts, Louis brings to Court Marie-Josèphe, played by Kaya Scodelario, the daughter of the mistress he always loved.
Orphaned at a convent since birth, Marie-Josèphe is educated and musically gifted yet bears inherent defiance of authority. Père feels he can use Marie-Josèphe to tap into the deep pockets of Lintillac, played by Ben Lloyd-Hughes, a wealthy young merchant angling for a position at court and using her musical abilities to satisfy Louis’ ear.
As the week of the Eclipse begins, Yves returns to Versailles, successfully capturing a mermaid played by Fan Bingbing. They order him to place her in a reservoir beneath the Grotto of Thetis and restore her to total health.
Marie-Josèphe discovers the mermaid, and the two quickly develop a mysterious communication ability. Kindred spirits forge an empathic bond based on a common thread: the mermaid, in her capture, has been separated from her children and yearns to be reunited, and Marie-Josèphe still longs to know her parents. Marie-Josèphe also falls in love with Yves, not knowing he is the mermaid’s captor.
Eventually, Marie-Josèphe finds out that Louis has planned not only to marry her off to Lintillac, whom she hates, but, worse yet, to kill the mermaid. When confronting Louis, she learns the secret that has shrouded her life: the King is her father. Her heart leaps at the revelation, but the King is more concerned with the future of France than building a relationship with his daughter.
In the end, Marie-Josèphe understands she must defy her father, her King, to rescue the mermaid.
“When I read the novel The Moon and the Sun by Vonda McIntyre, I completely fell under its magical spell. A King, a secret daughter, and an incredible mermaid that lived in the fountains of Versailles,” tells McNamara. “I love to make inspirational movies that delight audiences around the Globe. We adapted the book into the feature film The King’s Daughter.”
McNamara made films like Soul Surfer, Spare Parts, and The Miracle Season, branched out, and made a fantasy film that the audience appreciated. “When you meet the mermaid, I want you to feel her journey as she adapts to her new world and meets Marie-Josephe D’Alember.”
McNamara’s love for music and his love of the ocean come together as Marie-Josephe plays her cello and communicates magically with the mermaid.
Even the love affair between Yves and Marie-Josephe is one of the ages. “It’s pure and whimsical. In fact, after playing the roles in the movie, Kaya Scodelario and Benjamin Walker fell in love in real life and now have two beautiful children.”
