Really Surprised!

From my favorite movies..

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I'm a huge fan of animation and Denmark's Princess from 2006 gives me more reasons to be fan of this genre.Princess is a recipe for an excellent film. You have a great animation, as well as some originality - there's some live-action also. You have two highly likable characters - August and Mia, and their relationship is what carries the movie. There's a great plot, where some moments make you happy and others - sad. If that isn't enough the film is about darker themes. One other thing I'll point out about Princess is a scene that had an awesome style (I don't want to spoil the scene).There's nothing in Princess that ruins the experience. A little, microscopic flaw is within the animation at some moments could be polished.Princess is a must-watch for fans of animation and films and it is an excellent film.

While released to theaters in Denmark way back in June of last year, it was only recently that I was finally able to view this film for myself and see what all the buzz was about. "Princess" combines live action video segments with simple animation to tell a modern day "Grimm's Fairy Tale" that is both shocking in its subject matter and stark in its overall emotional storyline. Thure Lindhardt is the voice of August Chistensen, a fledgling Catholic Priest who has come back to his hometown to visit his younger sister Christina (Stine Fischer Christensen in live action flashbacks) whom he has become estranged of late. Christina has become a rising porn star in Demark (she goes by the alluring porn name "Princess"). August is aghast at his sister's depraved lifestyle, even more so after discovering that she is still performing lewd acts even while pregnant with her first child. He leaves without getting the chance to talk with her but holds out hope that they can mend their once close relationshipTragically, reconciliation never materializes as Christina dies five years later, leaving her daughter Mia (voiced by Mira Hilli Møller Hallund) at the hands of a kindly brothel madam. Guilty and concerned about his niece's situation, August decides to take Mia to live with him. August finds his faith severely tested as he begins to unravel and discover the horrific life his sister has lead and the abuse both she and Mia experienced (Mia has been both physically and sexually abused). The crowning indignity of Christina's tragic life is the phallic adorned mausoleum erected in her "honor" by Christina's longtime lover and "pimp", Charlie (who owns the mega porn company "Paradise Lust" where Christina was employed). August's rage soon boils over when he finds Mia innocently mimicking the sexual acts found in one of Christina's home movies. He soon dedicates himself to "eradicating" all evidence of Christina's humiliating life from this world--destroying the porn company she was a part of and to kill Charlie.The screenplay by Mette Heeno and Anders Morgenthaler is quite inventive. "Princess" is most certainly a revenge story but it is also the story of innocence lost. It is quite sad to see the once vibrant and personable Christina "fall" into the world of porn and the ramifications her life has had not only on her but also her daughter. Similar to "Death Wish", August represents the everyman pushed to the limits of patience and tolerance and driven to the point of rage and madness.Director Morgenthaler's use of simple animation to tell this story is very effective indeed. The sordid and dirty world of porn is reduced into a surreal and exaggerated childlike cartoon, an almost fantasy. It is reflective of August's desire to want to shield and protect Mia from the harsh reality (represented by the grainy video of her mother and the wicked and tragic path she took) of the real world and keep her within a more innocent child's world. That being said this is not a kid's movie, and the violence and bloodshed unleashed by August is definitely startling, but not to the point of being obscene.The character designs of Mads Juul and Kristjan Møller, while vaguely reminiscent of Japanese animation, reminded me a lot of the work of Ralph Baski's especially his 70's movies like "Fritz the Cat" or "Coonskin" which also brought adult themes to the medium of cartoon. I found Mia to be a bit hard to believe as a character as she seemed much too "mature" to be a five year old. It also didn't help that her character was drawn with an overly massive head (I assume to accommodate her expressive facial features and wide eyes). Perhaps this was done in a deliberate manner."Princess" tells a cautionary tale that seeks to say that nothing good comes from revenge except more sadness and tragedy. It is not a happy tale nor was it meant to be."Princess" is not for everyone but will certainly leave a long lasting impression for those able to see it.

If you mix the set up of "Leon the Professional" with the style of "Kill Bill" and "Sin City" you expect a good movie, but this one - against all odds - was poor. The artwork drawing reminded me of the Simpsons very first episode (yes, the one drawn by Ullmann). So if you like Mangas, the cartoon style of Kill Bill or anything else from the toon's Hollywood can offer - you will be more than disappointed! Lame to ugly graphics! Only the music isn't that bad - and "watching" the movie with your eyes closed might the way get a decent impression. Of course, if you want to make a movie about a child growing up between whores it is probably the best way to do it - because you don't have to have a real kid doing the acting. But, nevertheless, this topic is not worthy doing a movie about - rather a documentary. To sum it up: It is a movie the world didn't need combined with a failed attempt of stealing innovative styles from blockbusters.

It was a bit of a surprise to discover that the majority of the film consists of animated sequences, with just a bit of grainy video footage (the preview I'd read suggested otherwise) ... but after recovering from that shock, I found the film somehow lacking - whilst watching it, I suspended my disbelief, and was quite take by the characters and winced at the violence. But looking back, it all just seems a bit unreal - whereas thinking back to violent non-animated films, I recall them as violent ... this I just recall as being animated !At the London Film Festival screening, the director was on stage afterwards for an interesting Q&A - where he defended the slow pace of the film, by insisting that he would have liked to make it faster, but the 1.5m dollar budget didn't allow. He also revealed that part of his inspiration for making the film was the work of Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, whose photos he initially found erotic ... but eventually he considered the women behind the photos, and how they must all be daughters and sisters (an issue he repeatedly brought up). Anders insisted that in Denmark, whilst pornography is openly available, the women involved are regarded as being a sort of underclass - and his film was partly an attempt to expose this hypocrisy. He admitted that they had considered different endings, but the one he chose was the only one that seemed to work !