I was excited about this film having enjoyed 'Run, Lola, Run' but was left with an unsatisfied and rather unpleasant taste.As in Run, Lola, Run the characters are somewhat flat and unexplained. But unlike the directors previous film The Warrior and The Princess fails to capture a viewers attention with an exciting frenetic style and plot, lifting the need for character development. This failure only serves to highlight the films shallowness of writing and characterisation. This is a shame as the opening hour of the film show real promise of depth and meaning. However from half way through the film slowly meanders through the rest of It's rather long running time, eventually becoming sludgy and stretched.It is the lack of any real explanation of the characters actions and reactions that brings this sense of loss. While Run, Lola, Run did not require such in-depth explanation, the slow pace of The Princess and the Warrior lends a viewer much more time for reflection on events. However there is little explanation of events to reflect on.The film is beautifully and obviously very expensively shot. The cinematography, along with strong direction and a barrel load of powerful performances might just save this film for some. However, I ended the viewing with a sense of wasted time, distaste and mild disappointment.

The lonely nurse Simone "Sissi" Schmidt (Franka Potente) spends her life with the interns and colleagues at the Birkenhof mental institution where she works. One day, a friend of Sissi from overseas asks her to go the bank to check her inheritance that is in a safe and Sissi goes to the city with a blind patient. Meanwhile the smalltime crook Bodo Riemer (Benno Fürmann) is chased by two men that he had robbed and he provokes an accident. Consequently a truck runs over Sissi while she is crossing the street and Sissi lies under the truck, but she can not breathe. Bodo helps her with a tracheotomy and she becomes infatuated with the guy. Fifty-three days later, she is discharged from the hospital and she seeks out Bodo. However Bodo has a severe trauma from the past and rejects Sissi. Further, Bodo and his brother Walter Riemer (Joachim Król) are planning heist the bank where Walter works. However their lives entwine again when Sissi arrives at the bank where Bodo and Walter are robbing. "Der Krieger und die Kaiserin" is a weird romance, with an unconventional love story and bizarre characters. However, Bodo is an unlikable character; the shallow screenplay has many flaws and is too long; and the film is boring in many moments. The masturbation scene is silly; there is no explanation why Bodo had background to perform a tracheotomy; the insistence of Sissi in visiting Bodo is annoying; and the participation of Sissi in the heist is ridiculous, and to open a safe in the bank she should have provided her personal data to the clerk. The camera work and the soundtrack are excellent. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "A Princesa e o Guerreiro" ("The Princess and the Warrior")

The first three-fourths of this movie is absolutely fascinating. It moves along seamlessly, hovering somewhere between reality and dream logic. The characters are fascinating and rather tragic, although the movie doesn't allow you to connect with them particularly.And then, well, something happens. A bunch of stuff is just sort of tossed in, weird plot points that come out of nowhere and the balance between fantasy and reality shifts radically to just plain nonsensical. The ending was particularly odd and unsatisfying. The movie neither ties things up nicely nor leaves you with an interesting ambiguity, it's more like it just sort of hiccups a few times and then just trails off to nothing.Still worth watching though.

I have seen "Princess and Warrior" about 10 times. Honestly, I really want to watch it again and again another time. This is one of my favorite movies. I love this movie for some reasons: 1. The cinematography of this movie is brilliant. I love the movement of the camera, the angles, the compositions and the lighting. This is how the movie is told in the visual world and cinematic culture. 2. The directing of this movie is superb! The ways the characters interact with each other are naturally. I feel like I am witnessing everything is going on in every single scene. Therefore, My mind reached the catharsis moment that the film produced. 3. I love the acting of both actors, Franka Potente (Sissi) and Benno Furmann (Bodo). Sissi has a great heart. She believes in what she feels. She is determined with what she believes that is the truth. Most of all, she can stand up for love. Benno is excellent for his acting as Bodo. I like the look of the character Bodo constructed. The masculinity of the character Bodo is reinforced by Benno acting and the directing of Tykwer. How Bodo's inner world influences his behaviour can be sympathetic. I was attracted by the acting of these two central characters (Franka Potente and Benno Furmann)I can feel every breath they breath, every word they say and every tear they cry. The love and the miracle intertwine with the happiness and the tragedy. In this world, everybody has his/her own pain but depend how s/he expresses. Some people try to hide the pain and someone is trying to understand one's pain in order to help them to overcome/recover. Everything we need is time. Just only time can help to heal the wounds, particularly, some wounds are deep in our hearts. Another elements to help us recover from pain are love and miracle. Together, time, love and miracle can help us all escape our own world to live in the better world, the world of love. There are many lives are shown in the movie but Sissi and Bodo represent of two lives in many tragic cases. One has a mother was killed by her own mad father; one has a wife was killed by chosen the suicidal way. Both are ladies but they both died in different situations. This movie for those who believe in love, believe in miracle, and believe that somewhere in this world there is someone who is waiting to love and to be loved. Let's love each other! I love this movie and I believe so do you.