Corsage

Corsage

A fictional account of one year in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. On Christmas Eve 1877, Elisabeth, once idolized for her beauty, turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman; she starts trying to maintain her public image.

  • Released: 2022-07-07
  • Runtime: 113 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, History
  • Stars: Vicky Krieps, Florian Teichtmeister, Katharina Lorenz, Jeanne Werner, Alma Hasun, Finnegan Oldfield, Manuel Rubey, Aaron Friesz, Tamás Lengyel, Ivana Urban, Alexander Pschill, Raphael Nicholas, Rosa Hajjaj, Lilly Marie Tschörtner, May Garzon, Norman Hacker, Marlene Hauser, Adrien Papritz, Oliver Rosskopf, Peter Faerber
  • Director: Marie Kreutzer
 Comments
  • statuskuo - 11 January 2023
    The Gilded Cage
    Following on the coattails of "Spencer" here is another flick about the royal rich who cage their women. Is this a female empowerment film? Depends on how you view it. It is somewhat of a horror film. Similar to "Spencer" this takes place around Christmas, which is when the duties of the Lady of the manor is magnified.

    The historical part of this is very vague to me. As an American, I know very little of Austrian royalty. Supposedly much has been made of Elizabeth (Sissi), Empress of Austria in Euro cinema. She was, as I've followed up on the facts, kind of a jerk. She was image conscience and very difficult when it came to people beneath her. You could aim that towards her status of being royalty. But probably that she was bi-polar or some other mental illness which caused her erratic behavior.

    A little of this is seen, as I believe the director, Marie Kreutzer, decided to focus on her mundane life. Someone who has everything done for her is bound to lack purpose. In this, she is played by Vicki Krieps. A square jawed Meryl Streep. Her phenomenal performance to embody this woman is really great. Given her politics, I doubt Hollywood would reward her for it.

    She is a bit embittered of her lack of things to do around the house. Her husband, Emperor Franz (Florian Teichmeister) seems so confused by why she would be so dissatisfied with life, as we are all thinking. But the reality is the boredom of Empress-dom.

    I like how they constructed this film to feel claustrophobic. "Spencer" does the same. Though, Sissi isn't painted to be a saint by any means, she seems to identify more with the patients at a mental hospital she visits often. And questions the fate of these women.

    Depression sinks deep and, for many women who watch, may feel the walls of society closing on them as well. It builds a frustrating tug of life which is as restrictive as the title "Corsage" suggests.

    The production of this project is remarkable. Everyone is in perfect atmosphere for the mood. And is really convincing when transporting us back to the 1800's. It wasn't that long ago (believe it or not).

    History aside, there are a lot of anachronistic ideas that were purposely included. Music and household items sometimes jar you into a more fantasy world. I think it's okay to add these flourishes as I think it nods to the true historians that you must let this go as a inaccurate version of history. What you walk away from is the gist of who she actually was.

    The way of Hungarian/German/Autrian cinema is dry in its humor. It's somewhat dark in its handling of behavior. Sissi seemed to be living in a suicidal existence. Never satisfied, never happy. Observing life as a means to an end. It really portrays that level of depression accurately.

    She is not be liked. Krieps plays Sissi painfully self-destructive. Most of our pity goes to her husband who suffers it, but does so to preserve image.

    That dynamic makes this a fascinating work and I think worth a view.
  • cdcrb - 30 December 2022
    a golden cage
    Vicky krieps is quite wonderful in this fictionalized account of elizabeth of austria. Known for her beauty and tiny waist, she was head strong and very independent. In this film she is those things and much more. Imperious and loving, crude and impassioned. She seems to have a love hate relationship with her husband , emperor franz joseph, from the old school of monarchs. His son, the crown prince, recognizes that the monarchy is on the way out and in real life committed suicide with his mistress. Elizabeth never recovered from that. No such thing happens here, but a version of it does. All the actors are very good, but vicky shines, in an award deserving performance. Although, fictional, this movie is for history buffs as well. The director, marie kruetzer (sp?) provides us with a film without one moment of sentimentality. Very rare. Bravo.