The Princess and the Warrior (2000)

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

6 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

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

nurse uniform | nurse outfit | caucasian | female nurse | accident | 

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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 USA:

$51,426, 24 June 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$871,058, 25 November 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

X-Filme Creative Pool,Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The literal translation of the German title is "The Warrior and the Empress". The name of the main female character, "Sissi", refers to the nickname of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (1837-1898). There are several movies and television shows about the Empress Elisabeth, some with "Sissi' in the title.

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Goofs

The truck Bodo jumps on heads down the Kaiserstrasse in Wuppertal and seconds later hits Sissi coming from the opposite direction. The Kaiserstrasse is to small for a truck this size, to do a U-Turn so fast.

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Quotes

[Last Lines]
Bodo Riemer: Come on!
Bodo Riemer: So what do I do now?
Bodo Riemer: Bye.
Simone 'Sissi' Schmidt: What happened?

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Alternate Versions

A scene from the German version is missing in the U.S. one: Towards the end, instead of just leaving the "old Bodo" behind, we see him encountering a bus driven by Walter and then the two driving off together.

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Connections

References Three Colors: Red (1994)

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Soundtracks

Oremus
Composed by Urmas Sisask

User Reviews

The Princess And The Warrior ***

Having loved Tykwer's impressively energetic RUN, LOLA, RUN (1998), I was really looking forward to watching his follow-up feature but, somehow, I never managed it until now (I did get to watch his subsequent film, HEAVEN [2002]). Thankfully, it was worth the wait and the result is almost as good. While the film is long and often rambles on rather aimlessly, it is never boring and, at times, disarmingly inventive and emotional; the leading players, especially the enchanting Franka Potente, have a lot to do with the latter quality. THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR's main themes are matters of chance and fate but it also features an elaborate bank robbery and a long stretch of it takes place in an insane asylum (where Potente practices some unorthodox therapy on a couple of her patients) which is not too far removed from the one seen in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975).