CountZero313 Caye is saving up for a boob job. She gets her money as Lima, whoring in the streets of Madrid. Every week she eats dinner with her family and worries abut her mother's increasingly slippery grip on reality. And she has theories on Princesses and their attachment to nostalgia. Caye has no past to be nostalgic for, so she is sad for her lost future. She meets illegal immigrant and fellow prostitute Zulema, and the friendship brings her some respite. But nothing good lasts forever...Princesas is a poetic work, shot cinema verite style showing in uncompromising detail the degradation and danger that accompanies these women's lives. Candela Peña is engrossing as Caye, with no past to comfort her, and unable to see a better future, stuck in an eternal present. Her only hope is that there is not another life like this one. Zulema, the stunningly beautiful Micaela Nevárez, is compromised by a government bureaucrat lowlife who dangles just enough hope in front of her to facilitate his need to abuse. This relationship must be the only time in cinema history where a character looking for revenge packs a knife in her bag, and the audience never sees it again. Zulema, however, at least has a Pyrrhic victory of sorts (though the film falters slightly here, as it is unclear exactly who is infecting whom...)A snapshot of lives lived in shadows and on the edges of our civilization, this is lyrically written, and shot in an unobtrusive, straightforward manner. Touching, truthful and ample food for thought.

operez3 Micaela Nevárez is a Puerto Rican actress who has achieved great fame in independent and European films. She made her film debut in the acclaimed Spanish film Princesas which was directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, in which she played Zulema, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic trying to make a living as a prostitute on the streets of Madrid, Spain. Her strong convincing performance in this film earned her a Goya Award for Best New Actress in 2006, making her the first Puerto Rican thespian to win this prestigious award.By winning this award, Nevárez became the first Puerto Rican performer to win this prestigious film honor and one of the few Latin American actresses to do so as well. She is preparing to launch her film career in the United States in 2008 with a supporting role in the independent film The War Boys starring Victor Rasuk and Peter Gallagher.

Claudio Carvalho In Madrid, Cayetana (Candela Peña) is a call girl that lives with her dysfunctional mother, who does not accept the death of her husband three years ago, and send flowers with anonymous cards to herself as if they were sent by an admirer. Caye spends the day with other prostitutes at a beauty salon waiting for phone calls from clients, is saving money for a surgery to increase her breasts with silicon and has a crush on the computer programmer Manuel (Luis Callejo) that does not believe she is a whore. When Caye meets the illegal whore from the Dominican Republic Zulema (Micaela Nevárez), who works in the local red light district, they become close friends, spending their spare time together and making confidences to each other."Princesas" is an entertaining movie about prostitution, friendship and love. Candela Peña and Micaela Nevárez have great performances, but the story neither has the glamour and redemption of "Pretty Woman" nor is too dramatic or harsh, except with the positive result of the HIV test of Zulema. The revenge of Zulema and the open conclusion gives a perfect grand-finale for this enjoyable movie. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Princesas" ("Princesses")

Martha Savila When I saw Los Lunes al Sol, another Spanish film from the same Director, I could almost feel what it was like to be an unemployed man in our society. I thought Princesas would be at least a bit realistic regarding the life of a prostitute. I was wrong. The film is cute, has some rhythmic music, the two main characters are likable, etc. but the story is way too light. The film touches from far away certain issues like exploitation, venereal diseases, racism, etc. but it NEVER gets into reality. The general feeling is like being a prostitute is more fun that any other thing... just a step below "Pretty Woman". Princesas is definitely just a commercial film and (besides some acting)has nothing to be considered high quality.