20/02/2023 - BERLINALE 2023: Tackling the Sisi story from an entirely new perspective, Frauke Finsterwalder offers a thought-provoking and entertaining glance at the famous empress

Given the recent boost in media coverage of the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, another movie about her might seem redundant. But German director Frauke Finsterwalder manages to give the audience a new angle on this well-known story. Her film, Sisi & I [+see also:
trailer
interview: Frauke Finsterwalder
film profile], which has had its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 73^rd Berlinale, does not focus on Sisi’s romance with Emperor Franz Joseph or her difficult time fitting into court, but rather on her final years in isolation. Told entirely from the perspective of her lady-in-waiting, countess Irma Gräfin Sztáray de Sztára et Nagymihály, the tale offers a glance at the extravagance of the rich and powerful, and the constraints that such a life in the glare of the public eye can bring.

Reuniting with her Finsterworld [+see also:
trailer
film profile] star Sandra Hüller as countess Irma, Finsterwalder takes aim at the ludicrous court rituals, the protagonists’ self-importance and the fake façade they put up. It’s either marriage, the monastery or this, Irma’s mother, Maria (Sibylle Canonica), declares. Irma has so far shown little interest in men or any meaningful task in life, so she is shipped off to Corfu to provide company to the increasingly seclusive empress. It is within these opening minutes, when Irma’s predecessor puts her up on a pedestal, judging her clothes and waistline, and even checking her teeth like a horse, that the movie takes its first jab at the monarchy. What must poor Sisi have gone through, one must wonder?

But as Irma arrives on Corfu, the empress is all that and more: a victim of court protocols and a woman of incredible wealth and privilege, indulging in her decadent and provocative lifestyle. What do the rich do when they are bored to death? Take drugs, drink, explore queer sexual desires and, of course, play with the loyalty of their employees. On her arrival, Sisi (Susanne Wolff) demands Irma run a parcourse and do some pull-ups before the poor woman has even had a glass of water. After all, you can only become a lady-in-waiting if you are physically fit. The empress never sleeps, Irma is warned. And being her companion is a ritual consisting of extremely long hikes, laxatives in one’s tea and watery soup to stay slim, as well as being a punching bag during her erratic emotional breakdowns.

And yet, there is immediately something fascinating and engaging about this woman. Being in her company, Irma remarks, is like “having the light of the world shine on you”. But Sisi also knows how to withdraw from this attention and leave those close to her in emotional dread. Refraining from making her that sweet little girl from the Ernst Marischka films with Romy Schneider, and similarly steering clear of reimagining her as a feminist icon, as recent media projects have done, is a tactic that works wonders for the character. Her female-dominated world, in which patriarchal figures like Franz Joseph are the invader, unfolds naturally.

Based on the historical writings of the real Irma, peppered with some sly humour (although not every joke lands), and boasting an edgy soundtrack by Nico, Portishead and Le Tigre, this movie makes Sisi multifaceted. She is a woman who is too free-spirited to work within the strict confines of the court. But she is also a privileged manipulator who wants to have her cake and eat it, too. This is an approach one would wish to see when talking about the modern-day monarchy, focusing on Princess Diana or Meghan Markle, for instance. The timelessness of this tale is further enhanced by the incredible, anachronistic costumes by Tanja Hausner. Laced with modern influences, the women and the gay archduke Viktor (Georg Friedrich) seem to transcend their historical constraints and free the movie of the shackles of simply being a historical costume exercise.

Sisi & I is a German-Swiss co-production staged by Walker + Worm Film, Dor Film, C-Films, BR, SWR, ARTE France and SRF, and is sold internationally by The Match Factory.