Corsage

Corsage is a historical drama about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known to many as Sissi, during a single year in her life. On Christmas Eve 1877 she turns forty, an age that, for a woman of her time and position, marks her as old. While her husband Emperor Franz Josef expects her to remain a decorative and silent presence at his side, Elisabeth resists the role imposed on her, chafing against court conventions and the constant scrutiny of her appearance. She devises strategies to assert herself and protect the image she has built, even as those around her try to keep her within the limits of her rank.

Marie Kreutzer wrote and directed the film, which stands as her first feature in the chronological list of her work, followed by ACHT and Gentle Monster. Vicky Krieps plays Elisabeth, with Florian Teichtmeister as Franz Josef and supporting turns from Katharina Lorenz, Jeanne Werner and Finnegan Oldfield, among a credited cast of 48. The film runs 114 minutes across German, Austrian, Luxembourgish and French production, with a budget of 8 million USD and worldwide box office of 3 million USD.

Audience scores sit at 6.5/10 on IMDb from 11,000 votes and 6.1/10 on TMDB from 256 votes, while the critics' rating of 7.4/10 from 158 reviews places the film higher with reviewers than with general viewers.