The Princess & the Warrior (B or 3/4 stars)
'The Princess & the Warrior' is a German drama/fantasy written & directed by Tom Tykwer, the same man who brought us the exciting, kinetic Run Lola Run. And he has, once again, relied on Franka Potente to be his mystical heroine. Potente, now with light blonde hair (it was bright red in Run Lola Run), plays Sissi, a quiet nurse at Birkenhof mental hospital whose life is as secluded & monotonous as they come. One day, her path crosses that of Bodo (Beno Furmann), a scruffy ex-army officer who can't hold down a normal job (he lean towards bank robbing, of late). Because Bodo accomplishes a bad deed, he goes on the run (literally), but is the cause of an accident involving Sissi; who is struck by a truck while crossing a street. Unaware that he was the cause of said accident, Bodo crawls underneath the truck to escape the cops who are on his tail. There, he finds Sissi immobile, choking on her own tongue, & struggling to breathe.
Thinking quickly, Bodo saves her life (performing a makeshift tracheotomy & inserting a plastic straw as a breathing tube - he actually sucks the blood from her esophagus). She is mesmerized by this act of bravery, but then he vanishes. 2 months later, once she's fully recovered, Sissi seeks out the mystery man who saved her. She tracks him down, only to find a nasty individual who wants absolutely nothing to do with her! But his rejection of Sissi is not enough to thwart her; as Sissi believes that destiny brought them together; he is the man of her dreams. And Bodo has 'some' reason for the rejection: his traumatic past & his criminal 'present' prevents him from coming out of his shell. For the rest of the film, Sissi pursues Bodo - only to have fate step-in & change the course of their lives, once again.
I quite enjoyed Run Lola Run (recommended to me by my friend, Debbie). But that film & this one are quite different. This film is more thoughtful, more restrained; a true mood piece. Even with the sound off, you can tell that it's a foreign film. No Hollywood flick would have the type of narrative & execution that this film has. 'TP&tW' explores ideas of life, death, love, & guilt; a unique fable of destiny & redemption. Romance, too. The kind of romance that only an assuredly directed film can handle; a quiet romance that displays fear, hope, yearning, & sensuality. It has a little bit of everything. Visually speaking, the film strikes a chord, too. Some scenes are intense; thanks to the visual style/flair. And thanks to the editing, cinematography, & edgy score, there's a surreal atmosphere as you watch.
The script is smart. Not exciting or heavy on incident, but smart. Some people may not like the 'coincidence' angle of the story; where the plot relies heavily on characters being in the same place at the same time. It didn't bother me, but something that almost grated on my nerves, but didn't, was Tykwer relying a bit too much on mood, rather than substance. There are many lengthy scenes where little is happening, or said, but we're supposed to intuit what's going on inside the minds of the characters. Scenes like this ride the fine line of pretentious & meaningful; leading the film to be successful, but maybe a good 15-20 min. longer than it had to be. It also has too many subplots. We didn't need to know as much about the mental patients as we do. And in fact, this already bloated movie (135 minutes) was originally 210 minutes! I don't know which is worse, a shortened long movie, or a terminally long movie that fills in the voids?
Franka Potente is one of those rare actresses that can convey so much from barely moving a nerve-ending on her plaintive face. Even seemingly throwaway scenes become emotional, simply because of her reactions. And Benno Furmann is effective as Bodo; a 'warrior' who shows both his hardened side & the tender side buried beneath years of tragedy. I just wish the script (which is good) gave them more to literally 'say'. I sometimes strained to find content within their mystic bond.
'TP&tW' may bore mainstream fans whom dislike art films, languorous scenes, pause-for-thought, & ambiguous endings, but you can't argue that it's darker, more interesting, more resonant & more thematically rich movie than most others that come down the pike. The ending of this film deserves appreciation because of ALL that precedes it. And I have to say, for a good part of the movie, I was actually thinking 'there had better be a great ending to warrant what we have to go through for the duration of the plot'. But it pulls through, big time - mainly because you don't really see it coming; and it can be interpreted in several ways. I loved the ending (bumping my rating up from a possible B-/C+). I say, check it out. Watch it for its boldness, its challenging script, its thought-provoking performances, & its quiet character interaction. I enjoy finding small treasures such as this film.
Thinking quickly, Bodo saves her life (performing a makeshift tracheotomy & inserting a plastic straw as a breathing tube - he actually sucks the blood from her esophagus). She is mesmerized by this act of bravery, but then he vanishes. 2 months later, once she's fully recovered, Sissi seeks out the mystery man who saved her. She tracks him down, only to find a nasty individual who wants absolutely nothing to do with her! But his rejection of Sissi is not enough to thwart her; as Sissi believes that destiny brought them together; he is the man of her dreams. And Bodo has 'some' reason for the rejection: his traumatic past & his criminal 'present' prevents him from coming out of his shell. For the rest of the film, Sissi pursues Bodo - only to have fate step-in & change the course of their lives, once again.
I quite enjoyed Run Lola Run (recommended to me by my friend, Debbie). But that film & this one are quite different. This film is more thoughtful, more restrained; a true mood piece. Even with the sound off, you can tell that it's a foreign film. No Hollywood flick would have the type of narrative & execution that this film has. 'TP&tW' explores ideas of life, death, love, & guilt; a unique fable of destiny & redemption. Romance, too. The kind of romance that only an assuredly directed film can handle; a quiet romance that displays fear, hope, yearning, & sensuality. It has a little bit of everything. Visually speaking, the film strikes a chord, too. Some scenes are intense; thanks to the visual style/flair. And thanks to the editing, cinematography, & edgy score, there's a surreal atmosphere as you watch.
The script is smart. Not exciting or heavy on incident, but smart. Some people may not like the 'coincidence' angle of the story; where the plot relies heavily on characters being in the same place at the same time. It didn't bother me, but something that almost grated on my nerves, but didn't, was Tykwer relying a bit too much on mood, rather than substance. There are many lengthy scenes where little is happening, or said, but we're supposed to intuit what's going on inside the minds of the characters. Scenes like this ride the fine line of pretentious & meaningful; leading the film to be successful, but maybe a good 15-20 min. longer than it had to be. It also has too many subplots. We didn't need to know as much about the mental patients as we do. And in fact, this already bloated movie (135 minutes) was originally 210 minutes! I don't know which is worse, a shortened long movie, or a terminally long movie that fills in the voids?
Franka Potente is one of those rare actresses that can convey so much from barely moving a nerve-ending on her plaintive face. Even seemingly throwaway scenes become emotional, simply because of her reactions. And Benno Furmann is effective as Bodo; a 'warrior' who shows both his hardened side & the tender side buried beneath years of tragedy. I just wish the script (which is good) gave them more to literally 'say'. I sometimes strained to find content within their mystic bond.
'TP&tW' may bore mainstream fans whom dislike art films, languorous scenes, pause-for-thought, & ambiguous endings, but you can't argue that it's darker, more interesting, more resonant & more thematically rich movie than most others that come down the pike. The ending of this film deserves appreciation because of ALL that precedes it. And I have to say, for a good part of the movie, I was actually thinking 'there had better be a great ending to warrant what we have to go through for the duration of the plot'. But it pulls through, big time - mainly because you don't really see it coming; and it can be interpreted in several ways. I loved the ending (bumping my rating up from a possible B-/C+). I say, check it out. Watch it for its boldness, its challenging script, its thought-provoking performances, & its quiet character interaction. I enjoy finding small treasures such as this film.