Die Krieger und die Kaiserin

"Der Krieger und die Kaiserin" is one of my favorite films. In English the film was given the title, "The Princess and the Warrior," but I prefer the literal translation, "The Warrior and the Empress." It was directed by Tom Tykwer and stars Franka Potente and Benno Fürmann. Tom Tykwer and Franka Potente had worked together on "Lola rennt." Franka Potente played a nurse, Sissi, working and living in a mental hospital. The nurses have rooms there. She is hit by a truck, and her life is saved by, Bodo, played by Benno Fürmann, who is running from some guys. Sissi has a special connection with the residents of the hospital. Bodo is a small-time criminal, but it is evident that there is a sensitive side that he tries to hide. We eventually learn that he has issues from his past that he needs to let go of. Sissi tries to find Bodo after she is released from the hospital after recovering from injuries received in the accident. She had been dreaming of him, and she wants to find out if their is a special connection between them. At first he does not want to have anything to do with her. He seems cruel at first, but we find out the reason for his avoidance. It has nothing to do with Sissi, but with issues from his past. Bodo's brother, Walter, played by Joachim Król, has plans for a robbery so they can get out of the country. There are fairy-like elements, the hospital looks like a castle. Sissi in one scene wears a dress that looks like something that might be worn by Cinderella. The first time we see Bodo he is on a bridge leaning over pretending to fly. Sissi has a friend who is living in a house that is overlooks the sea and is isolated. (The actual house used in the film is in England, but in the film it is in France.) The scenes in the hospital with the residents are realistically portrayed. At first they were hard for me to watch because of my own memories from being in a mental hospital. One of my favorite pieces of dialogue takes place between Sissi and a blind resident after she has returned after the resident, he had been with her when she was hit by the truck: he asks her if she is afrain, and she says that she is. She says that she is back and everyone is ther, but she is afraid that nothing will be the same as before. He says that she is really afraid that everything will be like it was before. One of the things that I like about this film is that the blind character was played by a blind actor, Melchior Derouet. In an American movie he would probably have been portrayed by a sighted actor. I highly recommend this film.