Ein flüchtiger Zug nach dem Orient

Author Ruth Beckermann went on a trip to Egypt with a camera (and a cinematographer) after doing a lot of research in Austria about empress Elisabeth (Franz Joseph's wife, the one from the Sissi-movies) and her legend. Elisabeth didn't have herself photographed after becoming 31 but she travelled to Egypt as well, twice.

Ruth Beckermann doesn't really try to find out what Sisi's journeys were like, she doesn't make a historical documentary, she doesn't even tell us something about Egypt or about the pictures she is showing us. All she does is reading out a thoughtful philosophical text she has written about herself, about Elisabeth and about the Orient (she does that with a voice that confirms me in my theory that authors should never read out their own works). The text brings up a couple of nice thoughts, and the pictures seem magical when they show crowded and noisy markets with the sound turned off.

What Beckermann does here, is something practically anybody could do: think about a central topic, take some pictures and tell people what you think. This movie must have been a terribly interesting project for Beckermann herself, as she is (obviously) a special Sisi fan. For viewers like me, it is a movie to shrug my shoulders: well, yes, okay. It is a wonderful film to fall asleep with and dream a little bit, but there is not much one can gain for oneself.