La Emperatriz

The huge problem for me, a humble history teacher , was to like it. I saw the first episode with high expectation. After the next five episodes, not exactly the dissapointment was the state but a sort of fatigue.

The series has only a virtue - two good looking young actors in the main roles.

And nothing more.

Sure, clothes, rooms, a lot of sensuality but each of them represents only details.

The good intentions are obvious, in same measure than the try to be original, ignoring the historical truth. And maybe , for a large public, it is just seductive entertainment. For me not, especially for bizarre excesses.

But I am real grateful to director for this series. It is an enough motif for appreciate little more its "adversary" - Sissi by Sven Bohse.

The first thing the actress playing Elisabeth does NOT look 16. She's pretty but not drop dead gorgeous like Roma Schneider was in Sissi and she really was 16. The Emperor Waltz indeed was written for Emperor Franz Joseph...in 1889. NOT for his wedding to Elisabeth of Bavaria which was in 1854. And what's with the blonde pageboy hairdo sported by the spurned older sister Helene. And the weird modern dance routine. Wasn't the REAL story of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth interesting enough without these embellishments. And yet all the night scenes lit by torches and candlelight are period authentic and very hard to watch. I will probably continue watching because it's not bad just not great.

I never knew this was based on real history so I watched blind not aware of any inaccuracies which I am sure this show has.

I clicked on it because the tag said romantic and 'kilig', I didn't really find this romantic but I ended up liking it anyway. There was some love thrown about, which is what started Sisi's journey to high court, but they didn't really give focus on that. Just a couple of scenes at the first half. Romantic would be something like Pride and Prejudice or Bridgerton. This was more like Downton Abbey or The Crown, where in the drama is the focus.

Given how I went in blind.. I could feel the tension, I was talking to my screen calling them names since I didn't know what was going to happen so that's a plus on my end. It's a slow burn but at the same time as the plot progresses it also felt fast. There's a certain quiet thrill to it. Not high ecstasy action but just "oh no what's going to happen suspense". And it kept my eyes glued.

The costumes were great, idk if accurate to the time period though. They had plenty of color and the scenery was very royal so that's always a plus for me. The ost was fitting, quite regal in feel. Some of the shots they did I thought felt had good direction in showing the emotions like during more tender scenes or when Sisi was having her moments of feeling strained.

I thought the cast were great. Sisi especially had these transformations to her as she lives the life of being empress. Archduke Maxi as well really conveyed someone who knew his role yet wanted more from it.

I just really wish they had more of the love of Franz and Sisi shown because from what I got it was more like a shallow lusting like an initial high not something deep, emotional, and long lasting to warrant holding on to. Then again this is based on real history so perhaps that was all there was of it?

I loved the series. The cast is great, the costumes and setting are amazing. For that alone it's worth watching it. I didn't know much about Sissi except remembering my mother talk about the Romy Schneider movie, which was also before her time. Curiosity made me spend the weekend reading about Sissi and the historical context surrounding her life in court.

This is where I think Netflix (or any other production, for that matter) should change - it wouldn't take much to just add a disclaimer saying it's a fictional account based on historical characters. There's nothing wrong with it and it would give people a fair warning when watching.

Again, worth watching.

The first thing that I noticed was that "Sissi" who was supposed to be 15 years old, looked more like 25 years old. The exaggerated hairstyles of some of the female characters were entirely out of place. Why couldn't they just stick to what was correct for the period? And that troupe dance sequence?? Sorry, but that choreography just didn't fit either. The same went for some of the female costumes. Why did they have some of the female actors with a fifties cowl-like top to their gowns?

And did someone say at one point, "whatever floats your boat". Really, trying to paste 21st century slang into the 19th Century ! What are the script writers thinking? Or was it something that got badly distorted in translation? Anyway, it was jarring. That said, much of the camera work was inventive.

Like "The Crown" the film has little relationship to the facts and thus gives a distorted view of the period and the real Empress Elizabeth's story. The facts are just as interesting, and in my view, quite sustainable for television drama. When will someone eventually make a movie of the "true story"?

In any future series, I hope the writers, costumers and hair-stylists move closer to historical accuracy rather than continuing to pursue the quirky distortions of the first series.