A beautiful evocation of one of the most popular and least known characters in history. Blending flashbacks and introspection, the film builds to a fabulous climax in the time chosen for this final moment of soulsearching: a few hours before the Empress' assassination by a young Italian anarchist.
1898. A stunning woman dressed in black arrives in Geneva with her ladyinwaiting. Calling herself Madame Hohenembs and hiding her face behind a leather fan, the mystery woman is none other than Sissi, the Empress of Austria and Hungary. For one week, she recalls her heartrending life with her friend and lifelong confidant, Dr. Meyer. At each meeting, she bares her soul to him, stripping her life of the gilded myths that have grown up around her: her arranged marriage to the Emperor of Austria, her constant battles with Archduchess Sophia, the suicide of her son, from which she never recovered, her thirst for freedom and independence. 7 days later, calm and appeased, she takes leave of him for the last time, unaware that she has one final rendezvous with destiny.