The Mystery of Oberwald 1980

In an unnamed middle European state in the nineteenth century, the reigning The Queen has spent ten years in mourning after the assassination of her husband, King Frederic, and she has withdrawn from the public eye, shuttling from one residence to another. At the castle of Oberwald, she moves with a small, intimate circle: Edith de Berg as reader and chambermaid, her loyal personal servant Tony, and the steadfast Duke of Willenstein.

During a stay at Oberwald, a young radical poet, Sebastian, breaks into her chamber with the intention of killing her, but he faints from a wound he sustained while fleeing the police. The queen is struck by the eerie resemblance between the intruder and her late husband, and she learns that he authored a subversive poem she admired, even though it attacked her. She dares Sebastian to kill her, vowing that she will kill him if he does not. To keep up appearances, she presents him as her new reader, concealing his true identity. In the process, she accuses Edith of spying and has her arrested.

The next day, while wandering the Oberwald estate, Sebastian and the queen realize they have fallen in love. She confides that she is being controlled by her mother-in-law, and that Count of Foehn, the chief of police, has ambitions to seize the throne. Sebastian counsels her to reveal her presence in the capital and act as sovereign. Count of Foehn, having learned of the queen’s plan to return and knowing Sebastian is the sought-after escapee, pressures Sebastian to talk her out of it. Sebastian resists and instead takes a slow-acting poison. The queen, furious that he did not kill her first as she had commanded, accuses him of colluding with Count of Foehn against her. In a sudden rage, Sebastian shoots the queen and collapses. On his deathbed, the queen confesses that the entire plot was a ruse to force him to keep his word, and that she still loves him.