IFC Films has nabbed North American rights to “Corsage,” Marie Kreutzer’s bold costume drama starring Vicky Krieps as the Empress Elisabeth of Austria known as Sissi.
Represented in international markets by MK2 Films, the movie world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and earned unanimous praises. It’s so far one of the most acclaimed films playing at the Cannes Film Festival and it was circled by several other distributors. IFC Films also just scooped North American rights to Cristian Mungiu’s “R.M.N.,” another Cannes film, ahead of its world premiere at the festival.
“Corsage” centers on Empress Elisabeth of Austria. The monarch is idolized for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends, but in 1877, “Sissi” – as she is known – celebrates her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image by lacing her corset tighter and tighter. While Elisabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to purely performative, her hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless in Vienna.
She travels to England and Bavaria, visiting former lovers and old friends, seeking the excitement and purpose of her youth. With a future of strictly ceremonial duties laid out in front of her, Elisabeth rebels against the hyperbolized image of herself and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy.
Krieps, who broke out in the Oscar nominated “Phantom Thread,” is also known for her role in Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Bergman Island” which was in competition in Cannes. She was nominated for a César for Mathieu Amalric’s “Hold Me Tight” and recently wrapped Pathe’s big budget two-part movie “The Three Musketeers.”
Krieps’s performance as the restless empress has been widely applauded by critics, including Variety’s Guy Lodge who said it marked Krieps’s “best showcase for her defiantly peculiar charisma since ‘Phantom Thread;’” and described the movie as a “witty subversion of biopic and costume-drama clichés.”
“Corsage” was produced by A Film AG production, in co-production with Samsa Film, Komplizen Film, Kazak Productions, ORF Film/Fernseh-Abkommen, ZDF/ARTE, ARTE France Cinéma.
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