Review of Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin

This is the second film in the Sissi trilogy. Like the first movie Sissi, this continuation is equally idealized, but here the movie actually disregards historical fact so that a more fairy-tale-like storyline can be presented. It is historical fact that by the time Franz Josef and Elizabeth were crowned King and Queen of Hungary in 1867, Elizabeth already gave birth to 3 children and her oldest child, daughter Sophie, had died. These are huge events in the lives of both parents and monarchs. Yet, in the movie, only the oldest daughter had been born, the second born daughter and third born son do not exist, and by the end of the movie no child is ever mentioned. These are serious omissions which can be problematic if the viewer assumes the story as told in the movie is historically accurate. It's not. I have no doubt that some scenes were totally invented - such as the Tyrolean holiday sequence. I realize that film makers of historical drama need to take some liberties since there is no time to present all of the events truthfully and accurately. In this movie, the film makers wanted to focus on the empress's influence on the resolution of the conflict with the Hungarians. Unfortunately, it was done at the expense of leaving out the ongoing drama and suffering of the real Elizabeth - as opposed to the idealized Elizabeth presented here. Her mother-in-law's extreme cruelty toward her is minimized, and though the emperor's love for his wife was never in doubt throughout their lives, he completely failed to protect her from his mother - a situation that is not portrayed in the movie accurately. In spite of all this, the movie is still enjoyable and hopefully viewers will realize they are watching a very idealized fairy tale and will not confuse the story presented here with historical fact. The opulent ceremonies of the era, the pomp and splendor of the monarchy, are all well portrayed and definitely enjoyable to watch. I missed some explanation, even a very simplistic one, of why a dual monarchy was formed and its importance. But politics do not fit well into fairy tales, so this was likewise completely omitted.