article and photos By Zara nneka

As you enter the exhibition space on the fifth floor at the Cinémathèque Française, you are greeted with a large, mesh curtain with a portrait of Romy Schneider. Her rich blue eyes match the headband she wears, she gazes past you with firm intensity. This is one of the first of many pictures you’ll encounter of one of the most distinguished actresses of her generation.

Turn and you’re met with a wall of Schneider’s childhood photos and pictures of her family. Born Rosa Maria Magdalena, the young actress rose to prominence playing the beloved Austrian empress Elisabeth, or “Sissi”. A native to Austria and coming from a family of performers, there could not have been a more perfect choice for the trilogy of films.

Walk further and you’re faced with a lush red velvet mini tent, with a television projecting various clips from the Sissi films. Above the screen is the very wig Schneider wore for the role, gilded with silver and pearl-embellished flowers. The exhibition has many of Romy’s personal objects - her costumes from both stage and screen, a custom Chanel suit, a César award - it doesn’t just act as a retrospective, but also an intimate look at the life of an actress who ultimately became a symbol of the ultimate liberated Frenchwoman.

Schneider credits three people with making her feel “French in [her] lifestyle and [her] life itself - Alain Delon, Luchino Visconti, and Coco Chanel”. Delon and Schneider had a whirlwind romance beginning when they met on the film Christine (1958). They would separate in 1964, but reunited as actors for Jacques Deray’s La Piscine (1969). With Visconti, she reprises the role of Elisabeth of Austria in Ludwig (1973), with a much darker tone. Chanel’s custom outfits for Romy, seen in films like Boccaccio ‘70 (1962) provided the actress with the right look to emphasize both her sophistication and sensuality. As her career progressed, Romy wanted to move away from playing middle and upper class women, and moved onto roles that were both unconventional and more relatable to her female audience. She had a brief stint in Hollywood, starring in one of my favorite sex comedies of the 1960s, What’s New Pussycat? (1965), but didn’t enjoy it there, citing homesickness. 

The exhibition appeals to cineastes in general, not just fans of Schneider - I was pleasantly surprised to find everything from shooting schedules, costume designs done in rich gouache and watercolors, storyboards, handwritten notes from various directors Schneider worked with, script treatments, final drafts scripts, and of course, many, many posters. Among my favorites are an Italian poster for Visconti’s Ludwig (1973) and Otto Preminger’s The Cardinal (1963).

Dying at just 43 years old, Romy left us far too soon. She had an entire life and career ahead of her. There was to be more films - such as an unrealized project with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Cocaïne, that I would have particularly loved to see.

As I approached the end of the exhibition, I couldn’t help but think of Alain Delon’s bittersweet farewell letter to Schneider - “Nevertheless true that you came out of the woods on Saturday at dawn. You were only to know when your heart is broken, that this was the true end of the tunnel… Rest. I’m here. I learned a little German, with you. Ich liebe dich. I love you. I love you my Puppelé…”

Exposition Romy Schneider is on view at the Cinémathèque Française until July 31st. €12 for regular tickets, free for students and 18-25 year olds on the first Thursday of every month.