The Princess and the Warrior (2000)
"Der Krieger und die Kaiserin" (original title)

Young nurse Sissi lives a secluded life, seemingly entirely devoted to her patients at Birkenhof asylum. Her first encounter with ex-soldier and drifter Bodo has a lasting impact. He causes... See full summary »

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writer:

Tom Tykwer

Stars:

Franka Potente, Benno Fürmann, Joachim Król

5 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Franka Potente	...	Simone 'Sissi' Schmidt
Benno Fürmann	...	Bodo Riemer
Joachim Król	...	Walter Riemer
Lars Rudolph	...	Steini
Melchior Beslon	...	Otto
Ludger Pistor	...	Werner Dürr
Christa Fast	...	Sigrun Molke
Susanne Bredehöft	...	Zewil
Gottfried Breitfuss	...	Paul
Steffen Scheumann	...	Bruno (as Steffen Schult)
Rolf Dennemann	...	Dieter
Ali Nejat-Nouei	...	Ali
Sybille J. Schedwill	...	Schwester Maria Blum (as Sybille Jacqueline Schedwill)
Peter Ender	...	Dr. Thomas Kupfer
Friederike Frerichs	...	Schwester Corinna

Storyline

Young nurse Sissi lives a secluded life, seemingly entirely devoted to her patients at Birkenhof asylum. Her first encounter with ex-soldier and drifter Bodo has a lasting impact. He causes an accident that results in her lying under a truck, unable to breathe. While he provides life-saving first aid, mesmerized Sissi begins to wonder whether he may be the man of her dreams. But when she tracks him down weeks later her affection is rejected, as Bodo is stuck somewhere between a traumatic past and a criminal future.

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Plot Keywords:

dream | truck | nurse | ex soldier | patient | 

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Taglines:

Irgendwo da draußen wartet die Liebe

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing images, language and some sexual content

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

12 October 2000 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Princess & the Warrior

Filming Locations:

North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$51,426 (USA) (22 June 2001)

Gross:

$871,058 (USA) (23 November 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

X-Filme Creative Pool, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The German title "Der Krieger und die Kaiserin" translates as "The Warrior and the Empress", but Tykwer wanted the English title to be "The Princess and the Warrior" instead.

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Goofs

When Bodo is being interviewed by the doctor in the psychiatric ward, the doctor pours a glass of mineral water for Bodo, and sets the bottle down on the desk, with the label at an angle to the camera view. In the next shot, the bottle is turned so that the label is nearly directly facing the camera view. (The water happens to be Apollinaris mineral water, which is sourced from a spring in Bad Neuenahr, Germany.)

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Quotes

Simone 'Sissi' Schmidt: I'm having trouble sleeping. I keep dreaming about you.
Bodo Riemer: You don't even know me.

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Connections

References Run Lola Run (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Nothing Really Blue"
Performed by The Penguin Cafe Orchestra

User Reviews

As good or better than LOLA

This is a rich, layered film with characters behaving in believable, realistic manners. There are no holes I could find anywhere in the film, and no clichés either. A fresh script that revisits the CUCKOOS NEST asylum setting with a woman as the anti-McMurphy - she is employed there but thinks it may be time to leave.

The man she encounters in a harrowing little moment underneath a semitruck is the trigger that allows her to confront the life she has in comparison to the one she may want. But the only way she can know for sure is to meet up with this stranger once again.

Coincidence as a theme plays heavily in this director's oeuvre (Lola was based entirely on the premise of what is needed for no coincidences to have occurred). But the plot is much deeper after initial relationships are laid out.