The most intriguing woman of her day, Empress Elisabeth — a rebellious 19th beauty called Sisi (last dramatized onscreen by Vicky Krieps in Corsage; here, by Susanne Wolff) — decamped from the stuffy courts of Vienna to a proto-queer paradise on the Greek isle of Corfu. When the unmarried Countess Irma (a wonderful Sandra Hüller) is shipped out by her mother to be Sisi’s latest amusement, their first meeting is not promising: Sisi hides behind gauzy curtains ordering Irma to hurdle over hedgerows like a show-pony. But Irma has secret reserves of charisma and endurance and soon they’re sharing bubble baths, hashish giggle-fits, and a mutual disdain for men. Their sanctuary is threatened by the royal family: the decadent Viktor — a duke who’s really a big queen — and the Emperor, Sisi’s dictatorial husband, whose urbane exterior hides a cruelty that puts Sisi and Irma’s bond to the test.

Fans of The Favourite and Portrait of a Lady on Fire will love this stylish revamp of the lesbian period drama, with its fluid camerawork, eye-popping costumes, and amazing, anachronistic, all-female soundtrack featuring the likes of Le Tigre, Portishead, and Nico.