Romy

T. C. Fischer's film is another look at the life of one of the most original post-war actresses who naturally became a European star. Benedikt Röskau's script, rather atypically, focuses mostly on the years when Romy was searching for herself, the era between her absolute peak in the 1950s and her new career from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. It is not so much Romy's family that is important, but rather the memory concentrated in the photograph of her father, Wolf Albach-Retty. On the other hand, her mother Magda Schneider is portrayed only as a schematic and aged actress (which is really not true at all). Her relationship with Horst Buchholtz is not reflected, and neither is her maturation in the nearly twenty films she made during the Sissi trilogy. Alain Delon is just a mere crook and swindler who prefers to party and it is not clear if he ever gave Romy anything. A substantial part of Romy’s motivation for fleeing to France is also missing, and there is no mention of her double career in Hollywood. On the other hand, her first marriage and motherhood receive significant attention, in contrast to the fact that Romy's second marriage and motherhood is not incorporated. However, there are some impressive moments in the film, such as Romy's childlike enchantment with her parents on screen, and especially the final montage in which this little girl merges with the star of Sissi and The Passerby. (13/10/2011)