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
  • caslater-60756 - 2 February 2024
    Not a great film
    To be fair, I think the cast was a decent selection of actors/actresses and I'm sure that they studied their roles and mimicked the mannerisms of that specific era. But it was BORING. There is nothing that I can truly say I "love" about this film.

    The set seemed adequate but I was not fascinated with it. It's very much the same with the clothes, make-up, and hair.

    I love European history, including the various royal families or the upper rungs of nobility. But this film likely will never make my "favorites" list. I am much too dissatisfied.

    Thankfully, I have other films in my Hulu account that I can browse and hopefully find something to make up for this one!!!
  • Jaffaroll - 24 March 2023
    Entertaining, but why not tell the story?
    Corsage, is a mainly a year in the life of Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) of Austria mainly around when she is 40-ish but extending to the end of her life, (listed as 60). It is nicely filmed apparently in grand Vienna buildings and various country scenes. As with many European period dramas it is slow -but acceptably so, just. The acting is good, but apart from Elisabeth, the characters are not well developed. Vicky Krieps didnt look quite like my idea of Elisabeth but she did give the impression of an Empress frustrated at the waste of her talents and time. And Elisabeth wouldnt sit for portraits much after teen age so my judgement may be awry.

    Her story is interesting. She was married at 16 to Franz Joseph but didn't adjust well to the royal life. She almost certainly had an eating disorder as shown, and was obsessed with her waist size and diet and smoked. The marriage was strained. She was an intelligent, intellectually curious soul with Gym, fencing and equestrian skills and mastered new languages. She was regarded as one of the best horsewomen in Europe at the time. She was a filly pulling on the reins. These features are shown in the film but not developed. The intellect and talent along with the position of women, probably contributed to her frustration of court life.- However we are treated to scenes of her -- raising 1 finger leaving a dinner, -lying on a hospital bed with a patient, smoking, - dancing to a song written by the author of "Me and Bobby McGee" and ending her life in a manner that absolutely did not happen. There has always been some poetic licence with film histories but recently (Emily et al) it has got out of hand. It seems unfair and unnecessary, with a really fascinating character of the Hapsburgs to radically alter the facts. We like to learn history. The modern music I found jarring. ( I didn't seem to mind it in Marie Antoinette).

    If you have been to Vienna it is nostalgic to roam through those grand rooms again. Go sit and largely enjoy the Movie -then hit the net and find out what really happened.
  • rubenm - 16 January 2023
    A chain smoking, anorexic, tattooed Empress
    In reality, the seemingly glamorous Empress Elisabeth of Austria, nicknamed Sissi, was an anorexic, chain smoking, heroin user with an anchor tattooed on her shoulder blade. At least, that's what this film suggests.

    Or doesn't it? The film includes lots of hints about its lack of historical accuracy. The funniest are the songs made famous by Gladys Knight and Marianne Faithful, which are sung and played by 19th century court musicians. Also, I think Elisabeth giving her dinner party guests the finger is not exactly accurate. So, the tattoo is probably made up as well. And maybe the cigarettes and the heroin too. For your information: the anorexia is historically correct.

    Never mind the historical accuracy, the film shows clearly that Elisabeth is lonely and unhappy. There is no love in her marriage with Emperor Franz-Joseph, so she has affairs, but those are also unsatisfactory. She is very fond of one of her court ladies, and even forbids her to marry. Which shows that Elisabeth is not only unhappy, but also very selfish. And perhaps, as we would say nowadays, mentally unstable. She pretends to faint during official happenings, cuts off her hair and takes her 10 year old daughter for a horseriding trip during the night.

    The problem with this film is that you can't fully appreciate the fictional character Elisabeth whithout some minimal knowledge of the historical person Elisabeth. I googled her afterwards, and immediately many elements in the film made much more sense.

    Anyhow, 'Corsage' is certainly a nice addition to the many films that have been made about Empress Elisabeth. I've never seen the Sissi-movies, but I wouldn't be surprised if Vicky Krieps's character in Corsage comes closer to the real Empress Elisabeth than Romy Schneider's version.
  • scotrep - 3 January 2023
    Quite dull
    This film was beautifully shot and I enjoyed the aesthetics. The lead actress was entertaining, and sometimes spellbinding. But that's about it.

    It can't even be described as a 'slow burn' as that usually includes some ups and downs, but this really didn't. It was such a steady storytelling that I never felt any highs or lows.

    I was very confused as this was supposed to be 19th century but had elements of 20th century. That distracted me as I didn't get a sense of place or time to try and plug into the story.

    Overall a film that will probably appeal to those more intelligent/informed/interested than I am.
  • wgingery - 20 December 2022
    PATRONIZING and IRKSOME
    Imagine if Greta Thunberg, channeling her trademark patronizing and bullying, made a costume drama.

    That would be 'Corsage.'

    Imagine Vienna, 1878. At yet another interminable palace banquet, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Vicky Krieps) suddenly realizes that, frankly, she no longer gives a damn. In a clear breach of imperial protocol, she abruptly stands and sweeps out of the dining room, flipping the bird at the assembled guests and silencing the tinkling small talk once and for all. It's a revealing moment in the film.

    I'm with you, Empress. Your 'revelation' perfectly echoed my response to this albatross.

    Curiously, I don't respond well to being patronized as the beneficiary of unearned privilege by a female director given an entire film to rant about how oppressed she is.

    Or to hear the film described as: 'Punky, subversive, the film shows a woman who, despite the power attached to her title, has very little actual control. And it shows the lengths to which Elisabeth must go to exert some agency in a world dominated by powerful men....'

    Wait, say what?... Over at Netflix, the story is just the opposite. They have a series called 'The Empress' which covers the very same period and people. And here's the funny thing: according to that show, it was actually WOMEN, not men, who made all the important decisions.

    Oh, and what about Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria and Catherine the Great of Russia? 'Corsage' is saying that they didn't have any agency and were dominated by powerful men?

    OK, I'm lost. Too much cognitive dissonance. Who's right? Which film is 'real'? Both? Neither? Should I care?

    See, here's where my 'suspension of disbelief' crashed - and I could never get it rebooted.

    Taking a step back, I think that director believes that by breaking down and 'subverting' the conventions of the costume drama (by using anachronistic sets, for one thing), she will break down and 'subvert' the male power structure that, according to her, even today keeps women marginalized.

    It's this feminist project of 'reclaiming' Elisabeth in an attempt to subvert the 'patriarchy' that weighs down and ultimately sinks the film. My point, whether you agree with the director or not, is that it's impossible to put aside the radical ideology underpinning the film-making choices. A movie that turns into a shallow rant - I don't care how luxurious the sets and costumes, or how good the actors' performances - is dead, and Sissi is as dead as a stuffed doll.
  • whain - 4 November 2022
    A complete historical nonsense and stupid
    This film is complete historical nonsense and stupid. The Emperor plucks off his fake beard, the Empress walks around puffing on cigarettes and showing the middle finger. She bangs on the table and doesn't act imperial at all. That is not at all the nature of the true Empress "Sisi". She was rather shy, reserved and spoke very softly. If she wasn't happy with something, she just walked away or didn't go at all. The film is supposed to show the aging Empress who, at the age of 40, is no longer an ideal of beauty. At that time, however, it was still very popular and quite handsome. It was the time of the riding stays in England and Ireland where, as is well known, she had received great admiration from the local community - especially from Bay Middleton, one of the best riders.

    She was also physically and mentally fit. The director of that film Marie Kreutzer says: "My aim was to tell a story within the facts that could have been like this." A resounding no! As she shows the Empress she definitely wasn't and she couldn't have been like that either. The Empress didn't smoke! It all comes from mix-ups and rumours. None of her close contemporaries reported that she has smoked. On the contrary! Her niece Marie Wallersee-Larisch writes in her memoirs: "And all four were sunk in huge leather armchairs. We were even allowed to smoke, with the exception of the Empress, of course" (Empress Elisabeth and I). That was in 1884 in the Amstel Hotel in Zaandvort/Amsterdam.

    Also the equipment in the film is not suitable as well as the costumes. Recently, many want to depict and interpret Empress Elisabeth in a "modern" way, but that is a falsification of history. It's a shame about the amount of money this film cost - something better could have been done with it, which would be urgently needed today in order to meet the claim of the true Empress among the "guild souls". Almost 125 years after her death, it would be time to make sure of that with a good historically correct film.