vicky krieps released to the public Daniel Day-Lewis in “The Invisible Thread” (2017) is Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece, but the best showcase of his talent to date, thanks to the film for which he won an acting award in the past. Cannes Film Festivaland this is now coming to Spain. The ‘Rebel Empress’ takes place in 1877, just before Elizabeth of Bavaria’s 40th birthday.imagining a very different version of the princess from the syrupy portrait offered by ‘Sissy’ trilogy -here the character smokes, drinks, uses drugs, gets tattoos, defies her husband and protocol, and even makes obscene gestures if necessary- and so the Luxembourgian actress already sounds good. likely candidate Oscar.
In ‘The Rebel Empress’ you present what many consider to be your most successful acting work to date. How does this recognition make you feel?
Honestly, it’s gratifying because for me, acting in this movie is like an act of liberation, even a rebellion. Because ‘Rebel Empress’ stems from an idea of mine and because the lead character is neither kind nor trying to be nice, and that meant we had to put up with a lot of skepticism to get the project up and running. Most people who work in the movie world believe that audiences are stupid, but the reactions to this movie show that they are not.
Many people know Elizabeth of Bavaria only from the films of the ‘Sissi’ saga. How did you know your figure?
I grew up in a very stone house with no place for princess movies and a bit of a ‘hippie’. My first contact with Isabel de Baviera was ‘Sissi’, yes, but only because I managed to watch one of those movies at our neighbor’s house. Later, when I was younger, I got her biography and when I read it I felt she was an interesting and very disturbing woman. Why was he barely eating? Why was he so reluctant to have his picture taken? Why was he so obsessed with ‘fitness’? I realized that the image popularized by ‘Sissi’ was pure fantasy.
Is it to refute this image that’s why you decided to act in ‘The Rebel Empress’?
Of course one of them. He was the first victim of celebrity culture. All of Europe decided that she was the most beautiful woman on the continent, they became obsessed with her and decided that they had her and they had a right to have an opinion on everything about her life. All this put a lot of pressure on him, who was interested in politics, loved to travel more than attending balls and receptions, and was one of the first in the monarchy to criticize the institution. This context was like a cage for him.
Romy Schneider, the actress who played her in ‘Sissi’, was also locked in a cage-like thing because of her character…
Yes, she was a great actress who wanted to be known for her work and not for her beauty like the empress. Both women suffered greatly for the same reason. Making this movie for me was partly an attempt to do them both justice, to justify them, and to give them something they can’t have in life. In fact, I have made sure that all women who have been prejudiced or manipulated into being mothers stay at home and do not ask questions or raise their voices. And this kind of enslavement of social expectations is still largely in place. Increasingly.
Is it Instagram’s fault?
To a good extent. Today we are all a bit of Sissy, always forced to present an attractive image and constantly subject ourselves to the evaluation of others. We have become our own audience and followers; The more followers we have, the more time we must spend satisfying them. Exhibitionism is a virus, an epidemic. And physical beauty is more valuable than ever, which puts more pressure on women than ever before. I find it disgusting.
Did you feel that pressure?
inevitably. As a kid, I felt like I had to be pretty, funny, and smart enough, even though my parents didn’t teach me any of this. And for a long time I thought there was something wrong with me because no guy asked me out until I was 22 or 23. And even today I feel that pressure, every time I walk down a red carpet I get red and sweaty. Also, I often wonder what I draw while doing this job, doing makeup for photo shoots, giving interviews like this.
The film that provided the most photo shoots and walked on the red carpet to date is ‘Invisible Thread’, which made its debut in American cinema. How did you handle your promotion?
During the weeks I was promoting that film in Los Angeles, I had never felt so alone and empty. I spent my time wearing dresses that others had chosen for me, getting in and out of cars and stages, smiling contractually, and feeling that I was being watched and judged. I thought I was crazy. This is a part of Hollywood that I absolutely do not fit into. And when I see some of my colleagues selling themselves and begging to be accepted, I have a hard time understanding this.
It seems you carry the rebellious spirit of your version of Elizabeth of Bavaria in your blood. Your own grandfather was a hero of the resistance against the Nazis, wasn’t he?
Yes, he was a prisoner in a concentration camp, and this experience gave him the determination to want to change the world. He later became Minister of Justice of Luxembourg and was responsible for the abolition of the death penalty in the country. In fact, I think I inherited a certain attitude from him. I make movies to talk about disturbing things and explore taboo topics. I take this as a mission. And my grandfather’s experience in the camps led me to spend my life reading history books to try to understand why people can be so cruel. Of course I couldn’t find the answer.