The Princess And The Warrior

Synopsis: Sissi (Franka Potente) works at a mental home in Wuppertal, Germany. Her life is changed irrevocably when she is hit by a truck on a shopping trip and on the verge of death but is saved by fellow handsome loner, Bodo (Benno Furmann), an ex-soldier who lost his wife in a bizarre accident, rendering him incapable of love. Sissi's savior disappears after he performs a life-saving operation on her and she resolves, once out of hospital, to track him down and determine whether or not fate has meant for them to be together.

Tom Tykwer has, over the last five years, established himself as an innovative andoughtful director. His debut, the downbeat, melodic Wintersleepers, and the follow up, the pumped-up choose-your-own-adventure-esque arthouse hit Run Lola Run, cemented Tykwer's reputation as a confident and daring film-maker.

The Princess and the Warrior, his latest feature, appears in many ways to be a hybrid of the two aforementioned films, a coolly crafted estimation of how chance and coincidence inexorably effects us all. The pivotal scene of the film, one that captures the dreamy menace underpinning it, is the moment when Bodo and Sissi meet. She has been hit by a truck whilst on her way to the bank and is lying under the rig, unable to breathe and in a moment of limbo between life and death. Bodo, whilst on his way to rob the same bank, sees her under the truck and slides underneath. Sissi opens her eyes and stares at her hero from close range, as he returns with a drinking straw, performs an extraordinary operation to allow her to breathe, and ultimately saves her life. This highly-charged scene, heightened by Tykwer's own musical score which eerily sounds like a clock ticking, is a heart-stopper, and one that crystallises the director's point of view.

The Princess and the Warrior is a puzzling and moody exploration of love and its various entanglements. It positions itself as a very offbeat fairy tale indeed, circling methodically around the fate of its two protagonists, a couple who lead remarkably dissimilar lives yet possess similarly introspective qualities. The lead actors, Potente and Furmann, are both charismatic and effective as the troubled, lonely souls. Many scenes zoom in to capture their equally moody and mysterious natures. The pair, who have previously worked together on the thriller/drama Anatomie, possess a remarkable chemistry and an unwavering sense of purpose throughout.

Tykwer persists in unsettling the viewer, finally drawing the couple together, for a second time, at the mental home where Sissi works. We witness several patients unravel whilst Bodo seeks refuge from a police hunt, leading to several incidents of self-mutilation and attempted murder. It is there, amongst the clinically insane, that the two discover their passion for each other and finally determine their fate.

This film is quite a surreal experience, as it embraces, at its core, a dreamy, romantic and often whimsical landscape, and combines it with an underlying menace and some very violent moments, lurking dangerously close to the surface. However, the range of emotions Tykwer so energetically entertains throughout his film ultimately fails to gel, resulting in an occasionally stilted exercise in moody transitions and languid exposition.

Want more about this film?

Want something different?