The Princess and the Warrior

The Princess and the Warrior is a distinctive and fascinating love story that does not follow the conventions of mainstream cinema.

The young nurse Sissi lives her life, in the most literal sense, at a psychiatric hospital, where she cares for the mentally ill with complete selflessness and a touch of naivety. While out walking with one of her patients, she saves him from being run over by a lorry, but in return she herself ends up in mortal danger. Then a young man appears and saves her life, but he vanishes just as quickly. What Sissi does not know is that he also caused the accident.

Sissi is convinced that she and her unknown rescuer are meant for each other. When she is discharged from hospital, she discovers his identity. She seeks Bodo out again, but he rejects her. The desperado Bodo is Sissi's diametrical opposite, but they are both outsiders, and by the play of fate or chance they end up on the run together.

One could accuse the film of being a touch pretentious, not least in its symbolism, which becomes too obvious at the end, but at the same time one has to admire director and screenwriter Tom Tykwer for his narrative daring.