Empress Elisabeth of Austria (commonly known as Sisi) is one of the most popular figures in European historical dramas. The Empress has been the focus of 10 feature films to date (with the first made as early as 1922), countless TV shows, books, plays, poems, ballets, and even architecture. Yet, director Frauke Finsterwalder completely reinvents her, transforming the commonly perceived shut-in into a whirlwind force of freedom and empowerment. Telling the complicated story of the friendship between Sisi (Susanne Wolff) and Irma (Sandra Hüller), SISI & I is a thought-provoking, rebellious, and exciting adventure, exploring the later years of Sisi’s life.
Told through the lens of Irma as she applies for a job as Sisi’s Lady in Waiting, SISI & I explores the complicated friendship between the pair. After being granted the position (and taking a strong right hand from her own mother, played by Sibylle Canonica), Irma sails out to Sisi’s private residence in Corfu. The extravagant building hosts Irma’s personal staff, and is the Empress’ playhouse away from the eyes of the Austrian-Hungarian court — and her husband Franz Joseph I of Austria (Markus Schleinzer) — where she toys and manipulates people for her own amusement. SISI & I is a complex character study of its two leading heroines, and is as captivating as it is hilarious from start to finish.
Susanne Wolff and Sandra Hüller Give One of a Kind Performances
4/5
Countess Irma, hired as Empress Sisi’s lady-in-waiting, accompanies her to a women-only commune in Greece. As they bond, Irma becomes fascinated by Sisi’s eccentric lifestyle. Their relationship deepens, leading to tensions and revelations that challenge their roles within the rigid confines of aristocratic society.
Release Date July 12, 2024
Director Frauke Finsterwalder
Cast Susanne Wolff , Sandra Hüller , Tom Rhys Harries , Stefan Kurt , Johanna Wokalek
Runtime 2h 12m
Writers Frauke Finsterwalder , Christian Kracht
Studio(s) Walker + Worm Film , MMC Independent , C-Films AG , Dor Film Produktionsgesellschaft
Distributor(s) Film Movement
Pros
- Susanne Wolff and Sandra Hüller are fantastic and create a complex, intricate friendship.
- A radically unique period film with a great soundtrack and plenty of surprises.
- Sisi & I is a dark character study but it finds a ton of bleak hilarity in its material.
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Set in the late 19th Century, Sisi has abandoned the court to live a life of excitement and unashamed entertainment on the Greek island of Corfu. Surrounded almost entirely by women, Sisi toys with her house staff, forcing them to adhere to a strict diet, ingest ‘health’ tonics, and meet her every demand. Susanne Wollf’s performance as Sisi is incomparable to any other rendition of the character, because she isn’t attempting any form of imitation. The German actress was asked not to research the real Empress Elisabeth before shooting began, as Frauke Finsterwalder wanted her performance to breathe life into the film’s moving script, rather than regurgitate a history text book.
Paired alongside Wolff (in a casting decision which desperately calls for both actresses to star in a new buddy cop movie) is the Oscar-nominated Sandra Hüller. SISI & I was released in Europe in early 2023, before Western audiences got to witness Hüller’s mesmerizing performances in Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest. While SISI & I presents her acting talents in a new genre, it is clear from her performance why she was later nominated for her starring role in Anatomy of a Fall.
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A Complicated and Curious Friendship
While Irma grows closer to Sisi as her new lady in waiting, SISI & I peels back new layers of both unique, but well-suited characters. Does Irma help Sisi grow from the amoral empress we first meet, to a kinder, more giving friend? Or does Irma find herself transforming into a 1:1 copy of Sisi, losing her own sense of selflessness to maintain some semblance of power in the relationship?
SISI & I isn’t focused on providing a clear-cut answer, nor should it be. Their relationship is messy, full of manipulation, abusive power dynamics, and frequent disagreements. It’s a friendship that would make a modern day therapist very rich. Yet, despite the clear red flags and abusive behavior, their friendship is also real, believable, and enjoyable to watch at its best moments. It’s a balance that could only be achieved through careful direction, and incredible performances from two of Germany’s best actresses.
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SISI & I Is Unashamedly Punk
Not content with being a run-of-the-mill period drama, SISI & I is consistently hilarious and surprising. Its mature themes of abuse, mental health, eating disorders, and femininity are hard-hitting. But this gloom is perfectly counterbalanced by a rebellious nature. As Irma sails in a small rowboat to the island of Corfu to meet Sisi for the first time, “Deceptacon” by Le Tigre blasts on the soundtrack. As the iconic ’90s art-punk anthem envelops the entire scene, SISI & I gives the audience a gentle nudge and a wink, before whispering ‘this isn’t your average period piece.’
The aforementioned mature subject matter, which usually comprises the bulk of a slow, esteemed costume drama, is the target of SISI & I’s bleak sense of humor. From a drunk re-enactment of the famous Greek play Lysistrata, to Sisi pranking her house staff by pretending to fall to her death from a cliff-side, the movie expertly keeps you on your toes and constantly reinvigorates its emotional story with fresh energy at every turn. Opening a film with Hüller’s Irma taking a hard punch (not a slap, a closed-fisted punch) from her elderly mother is a bold encapsulation of the movie’s physical, slapstick comedy.
The trailers don’t do the movie’s frenetic energy justice. SISI & I is an emotional steam train that keeps on chugging, taking unexpected turns. Audiences unaware of how Sisi’s story ends will find themselves both educated and entertained, while audiences familiar with the history of Empress Elisabeth will be too consumed by the journey to worry about the destination.
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Redefining a European Icon
Accompanying frocks, corsets, and ther Austria-Hungarian Empire with music by Le Tigre, Portishead, Pop Tarts, and a beautiful T. Rex cover is an understandably unusual choice. Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola used a similar tactic. SISI & I’s use of a modern soundtrack reflects its fresh angle on not just the period drama genre but a historical figure who has been at the center of countless European movies and shows. Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary is widely considered to be the first ‘pop-star,’ as the masses of the late 19th century obsessed over her.
So why make another movie about Sisi? If her life story, her relationship with the Emperor, and her rise to power have been covered countless times in the past (most famously in a series of German films starring Romy Schneider), why regurgitate it again? Because SISI & I doesn’t regurgitate, it strips away the pop culture that grew around the figure. SISI & I isn’t a completely historically accurate movie, and it doesn’t want to be. The film is a character study, emphasizing both the joyous energy and the mental struggles of such a powerful, yet powerless woman.
SISI & I
releases in U.S. theaters on July 12 from Film Movement.
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