Far from the myth popularized by cinema and television, this documentary-fiction explores the complex personality of Elisabeth of Austria, known as "Sissi", rebellious empress of an empire in decline.
How many movies and biopics are there about "Sissi die Kaiserin "?why her whereas Francis -Joseph , François -Ferdinand and morganatic wife Sophie(only one film:Ophuls' "de Mayerling à Sarajevo" :1939), and the last ( and pacifist ) emperor Charles and wife Zita are forgotten in the cinema .
The Marischka trilogy ,in the fifties , gave the audience a false portrait of the woman (a historian goes as far as saying that they showed the contrary of the reality ) This doc comes back in the past to depict Sissi die junge Kaiserin whose role was double: to give an heir and to represent the empire ;in fact her political influenced ceased after the Hungarian episode .
But the film focuses on Elizabeth 's passion for Greece and its myths ,particularly Achillles she called her "husband "; she loved the sea and showed herself a fearless woman: when the sailors would say the sea was choppy , she used to sail anyway ; her favorite place was the Corfu island where she had a palace built ,the Achilleon, dedicated to her hero which was finished eight years before she was slain ; you can visit it today .
Elizabeth is no more the lovely fairytale empress played by Romy Schneider -who hated the trilogy-; the actress,Sunnyi Melles, shows a mature (and immature) woman who shows her age ; her face looks tormented , in spite of her big plans .
Appearance by Karl Heinz Boehm ,who played Francis-Joseph opposite Schneider.
