The Princess and the Warrior

Colour, 35mm
Germany, 2000, 129 min
Section: Forum of Independents

Synopsis

Bodo is in his late twenties and in need of a job. His brother Walter has a plan: he wants Bodo to help him rob the bank where he is currently working as a security guard. Sissi is in her mid-twenties and works as a nurse at a psychiatric clinic where she attracts the considerable attention of her male patients. The lives of Bodo and Sissi intersect one day in Wuppertal Street where Bodo indirectly causes a traffic accident and Sissi is run over by a petrol tanker. When Bodo crawls under the car, he sees Sissi choking for breath, and saves her life. When Sissi is released from hospital she goes in search of her saviour. When she finally finds him, Bodo gives her a curt brush-off. Their next encounter takes place in the bank, on the day of the bank raid. . . .

About the director

Tom Tykwer (b. 1965, Wuppertal) made his first film on Super-8 at the age of 11. A fervent film-goer, he worked in various art-house cinemas. After a number of short films and television portraits of his favourite film directors, including Wenders, von Trier, Kaurismäki and Greenaway, he made his first feature, Deadly Maria (Die Tödliche Maria) in 1993. His second film The Winter Sleeper (Winterschläfer, 1997) was well received, but his third film, Lola rennt (Run Lola Run, 1998) became a real hit making Tykwer the star of New German Cinema.