Cover Art

Credits

Director: Anders Morgenthaller Stars: Thure Lindhardt, Stine Fischer Christensen, Mira Hallund Screenplay: Anders Morgenthaler, Mette Heeno Country: Denmark

August (Thure Lindhardt) returns home after a few years absence, having worked abroad as a missionary priest. He haas come home to sort out the affairs of his estranged sister Christina (Stine Fischer Christensen), who has recently died from a drug overdose. Much to August's chagrin, Christina had been working as porn actress - a very popular one - under the name Princess. Left with the custody of her five-year-old daughter Mia (Mira Hallund), August struggles to come to terms with his sister's death. Moreover and his own feelings of responsibility in the path that led her to porn and drugs weigh heavily on him. Worse still is his realisation that Mia has been exposed to far, far too much of her mother's lifestyle, exhibiting taboo behaviours considerably beyond her years. Still finding Christina's image plastered over magazines everywhere, August resolves to destroy every last trace of Princesses existence. Inevitably, August's quest turns violent, with the impressionable Mia only too willing to help out…

If Takashi Miike made an animated feature, its possible it would resemble something like Princess. It's just as morally transgressive as the more extreme of Miike's work, and similarly thoughtful at the same time. The execution however, is all Morgenthaller's own. Certain characters and points in time are depicted solely in animation, others in live action. Some key animated moments are hand drawn, others purely CG. The live action is a combination of flat, grainy video and lusturous film. This creates an instant distinction between the worlds of August's memory and his present crisis, and is very effective.