Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
The young Bavarian princess Elisabeth, who all call Sissi, goes with her mother and older sister Néné to Austria where Néné will be wed to an emperor named Franz Joseph, Yet unexpectedly Franz runs into Sissi while out fishing and they fall in love.
Sissi is a charming, visually handsome Austrian period romance that launched a beloved trilogy. The plot is a light, crowd-pleasing take on the historical Elisabeth of Austria, hitting all the expected beats of royal courtship and mistaken identity without much dramatic tension. Romy Schneider is luminous and gives the role genuine warmth, though the ensemble acting is competent rather than exceptional. The Technicolor cinematography captures Bavarian and Viennese splendor attractively but without particular artistic ambition. As a biographical romance it follows well-worn conventions of the genre, offering little that is tonally or conceptually distinctive. The ending wraps things up sweetly and satisfyingly for its fairy-tale register, though it is entirely predictable.