Plot: What’s it about?
Sissi (Franka Potente) is a beautiful young woman, but she is also very shy and keeps to herself, at least in terms of social events. She is extremely devoted to her work as a nurse, as she loves her patients and spends all her time with them, not as a profession in the usual sense though, as she simply loves what she does. Even so, she has trouble connecting with people outside of the hospital and shows little signs of changing in that respect. Her first encounter with Bodo (Benno Furmann) is an unusual and quite traumatic one, but it is an event that will change both of their lives forever. Bodo is a drifter and manages to cause an accident that lands Sissi smashed underneath of a vehicle, but he acts fast and saves her. His actions spark something within Sissi’s mind and she thinks he could be the man of her dreams, but he rebuffs the advances and leaves to tend to whatever life he now has. But the sense of fate and destiny still looms within Sissi, who pursues Bodo despite his life on the streets. Is this all destiny as Sissi suspects, or is it just a coincidence with no real impact on either of them?
I was skeptical on how well director Tom Tykwer could follow up the smash Run Lola Run, but as it turns out, there was no need for concern. Tykwer recasts his real life girlfriend Franka Potente to excellent ends, as she gives a stunning performance and in the end, The Princess and the Warrior is a phenomenal picture. I could tell as the film started to take shape that it was something special, but as time passed, it became even better and continued to impress me, even down the final chain of events. I love movies where several stories are pulled into one and then extracted at times, which is what this film does, at least to an extent. The Princess and the Warrior is more focused than that sounds, but you will find yourself drawn into multiple scenarios and at all times, the material remains coherent and on the mark. It is not often a film can deal with love, romance, and fate without becoming predictable and steeped in sappiness, but The Princess and the Warrior does and with flying colors. I found this to be a tremendous motion picture & the disc is great and as such, this release is given a very high recommendation in all respects.
As we all know, Franka Potente can be as raw, powerful, and energetic as we can imagine, since we’ve witnessed it before. But more reserved, dialogue driven roles are quite different indeed, which is what she is given here. By no means is her role here a dull one, but it is not as intense as her best known performance, without a doubt. Potente takes on all the role has to offer however, never slipping even for a second and in the process, moving herself up the ladder of range and success. Even when she is just using her eyes, motions, or even breath to convey her character’s emotions & thoughts, Potente is able to deliver on all counts. This is easily one of 2001’s greatest performances and when award time rolls around, I hope Potente’s work is not overlooked, as it deserves some serious praise. You can also see Potente in such films as Run Lola Run, Blow, Am I Beautiful, and Anatomy. The cast also includes Benno Furmann (Simply Love, High Score), Lars Rudolph (Brighter Than the Moon, Seasick on Solid Ground), and Joachim Krol (Anne Frank, The Impossible Marriage).
Video: How does it look?
The Princess and the Warrior is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Columbia has more delivered the goods with this transfer, as the image is clean, sharp, and nothing short of excellent. I saw no real wear on the print used, so the other elements never suffer and of course, grain is kept to a bare minimum also. I found the colors to be bold and rich, but never too much so, while flesh tones were natural throughout. No hindrances from the contrast either, as detail is high and black levels look refined too, no problems here at all. This is another superb visual effort from Columbia, who continues to maintain their level of excellence.
Audio: How does it sound?
The film’s original German language is intact on this release via a quite nice Dolby Digital 5.1, which is good news, of course. The audio here is dynamic and memorable, but don’t expect a reference level effort here, even though the material is very well presented. In truth, I had minimal expectations in terms of audio on this one, but the result is an above average track that really shines when it needs to. The surrounds are used often and to effective ends, but never overused or forced, so it all sounds natural, just as it should. No complaints in terms of music or dialogue either, as the elements come through in fine form and never falter in the least. This disc also includes a 2.0 surround option, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, should you need those choices.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A nice selection of extras has also been tacked on here, including not one, but two audio commentary tracks. The first track is a solo effort with director Tom Tykwer and he has a lot of information to pass along, from the film’s story to his thoughts on destiny and beyond, which makes for a most interesting session, I think. Tykwer returns in the second track, but is also joined by stars Franka Potente and Benno Furmann, who add their comments and in between those, Tykwer chimes in with additional words also. This disc also includes a thirty-five minute behind the scenes featurette, some talent files, a music video, a selection of deleted scenes (with an introduction from Tykwer), and the film’s theatrical trailer.
