The Princess (hulu/disney) and Damsel (netflix) (seriously can we start using more original names already) are absolutely in the same genre of "princesses put in princessy situations and acting in very unprincesslike ways", which I love, but I'd argue I Am Dragon/On – drakón fits the bill too.
a little less obviously. but without spoiling anything, neither the characters nor the genre expect her to be so selfish and resourceful, and (okay this is a spoiler) I personally felt the rug pulled out from under me when she was entirely willing to kill someone who'd just saved her life.
it's about the moment the story shifts from a tragic fairy tale with a passive princess to the princess turning around and saving herself, even if she has to hurt people along the way, even if she has to be everything the archetypal princess isn't. that shift is less stark and less tidy in I Am Dragon, but it's there.
And always remember, princess, the real power is not from your blade, but from your heart. A true warrior is defined not by how she fights, but by what she is fighting for. -- The Princess (2022), directed by Le-Van Kiet
This Yellow embroidered gown was worn on Úrsula Corberó as Margaret of Austria in the La Corona Partida' (2016) and worn again on Charlotte Hope as Catherine of Aragon in The Spanish Princess (2019) and worn again later on an extra in The Princess (2022) and gown was worn on exstra in Damsel (2024)
the princess is the medieval version of the raid but in reverse where the mc fights her way down the tower instead and everyone should watch it actually 🤲 im giving it heart eyes for the almost non-stop action scenes with fun and fast-paced sequences, thank u for the gore and bloody murder women ❤️
…OK, I recognize that this is not the point of this movie, but I don't really see why the bathing facilities and the toilet facilities are this closely co-located in a pseudo-medieval castle, except for the fact that modern audiences would be used to combined bathrooms. It's not like they share plumbing in this setting.
But more importantly, how the fuck do fighters fully armored up in leather armor co-exist with this gent in the same climate?
(@falderaletcetera, what have you gotten me into?)
the princess (2022) is an inherently lesbian narrative okay. okay. listen to me. on the most superficial level, "girl doesn't want to marry man"? lesbian. her scores of enemies being nasty guys who she murders in any way she can? lesbian. tearing her dress but never losing it, ultimately complimenting it with armor (symbol of femininity never fully destroyed, but rather transformed)? lesbian. spending most of the movie hiding, out of sight (being in the closet) until she accepts what she wants, ultimately leading her family to accept & support her? lesbian. "what made you like this" "i was born this way"? lesbian.
My favorite scene from the new Hulu movie The Princess.
(premise of the movie: a princess is told to marry a dude, the princess says no, the princess gets put in the tower and chained up, she wakes up and John Wick/John McClane/Fionas out of there by killing the goons through increasingly more unlikely AND GODDAMN FUN ways).
(obviously contains spoilers - if only for that one scene, - avoid if planning to watch the movie... if undecided, this scene basically shows the kind of princess the story is following and it might make you DECIDE to watch it).
(or you can just go watch the trailer here)
I love how goddamn cold she is here. And how very factual her threat here is (it's supported by the preceding number of deaths she's already responsible for (lots and LOTS of very fun-to-watch, unique kills that are under her... chains, swords, and pink lace by this point)).