I enjoyed the film, although in many ways it's a dissatisfying story. Essentially, it's about an under-appreciated woman in a bad marriage told as a fairy tale. Princess Arete is raised in a high tower (pedestal), and her father exploits her suitors by making them scour the earth for treasure. She meets two of them, but one is a braggart and both are liars. She's eventually married off to a wizard who is really nothing more than a lazy layabout. He sits around with his servant, Grovel, doing nothing. (All he needs is beer and a remote.) He locks the Princess away, but her strength and stoicism drive him crazy, and he banishes her. It turns out he's nothing but a self-loathing brat with virtually no power who pines for the glory days when wizards ruled the world. (Think former high school football star.) The resourceful Princess leaves him to pursue her own adventures. I liked it, but it didn't cover a lot of new ground. Think of the movie as a metaphorical retelling of "Private Benjamin".
Review of Princess Arete
