2023-10-25 11:30:06
Countess Maria de Sztaray (Sibylle Canonica) and Irma Sztaray (Sandra Hüller) in “Sissi & moi”, by Frauke Finsterwalder. BERND SPAUKE/KINOVISTA
THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – WHY NOT
Twice in one year, directors have strived to rid Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1837-1898) of her corset, and therefore by extension of the shackles inherent to the era and her rank. This emancipatory gesture led by the Austrian Marie Kreutzer in Corset (released in December 2022) inspired an iconoclastic film at the center of which Sissi appeared to us as a tragic heroine doomed, despite her rebellion, to disappearance. Just like the ending century that saw it born.
Nothing comparable in Sissi & me which softens the line, chases away austerity with light and makes comedy prevail. At least during a large part of the film. The time it takes for a friendship to be born and flourish. The one in question here constitutes the real subject of the first feature film by German director Frauke Finsterwalder. The director finds, through this means, material for two portraits. One reveals itself through contact with the other, and vice versa, until this rupture at the end of which adulthood and emancipation occur.
This friendship features the Empress of Austria (Susanne Wolff) and her lady-in-waiting, Irma Sztaray (Sandra Hüller), a real-life character who, from 1894 to 1898, stood by Sissi’s side on all her trips. and official travel. This proximity around which the film is developed evolves in the manner of a tale or a story for children. Sissi & me evoking as well The Sleeping Beautyby Charles Perrault, who Sophie’s misfortune or Model Little Girls, of the Countess of Ségur. An approach which has the merit of bringing its share of lightness and freshness to the story. But which also constitutes its limit.
A bond of sisterhood
When the film begins, Sissi has fled the court, its conventions, its duties, its cumbersome dresses and its restrictive accessories. While on vacation in Corfu (Greece), she is preparing to receive for the first time the Hungarian countess Irma Sztaray, sent from Austria to serve Her Majesty. Barely arriving on the island, exhausted by a long journey, overwhelmed by the heat, the candidate for the position is immediately subjected to a series of physical tests – running, jumping hurdles – which she completes by taking her feet in her long dress, sweating through every pore of her skin, thirsty to the point of discomfort. From the top of her window, her gaze hidden behind a black veil, the Empress observes.
The successful employment tests – which all involve the body, the great obsession of Sissi, suffering from anorexia, prey to violent attacks of bulimia – the two women will never leave each other. Together they will dive off a Greek cliff, ride across the beaten wilderness of England, and set off for Algiers where they will discover the euphoric effects of hashish.
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