Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Princesas
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
view
per page
  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    88
    Film works best as a soberly witty commentary on the workplace and makes an interesting companion piece to "Mondays in the Sun."
  2. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Michael Ferraro
    80
    Princesas isn't the cliché "Pretty Woman" type romantic-comedy you'd expect – it's actually quite surprising.
  3. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: John Patterson
    80
    Aranoa's bleak yet warmly humanistic Princesas deftly and sympathetically ponders the interlocked destinies of two Madrid prostitutes.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    75
    The actresses create wonderfully rich characters, and Luis Callejo, as Caye's unknowing boyfriend Manuel, and Antonio Durán, as the sadistic civil servant, fill out the very strong cast.
  5. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    70
    Candela Peña is sensational in the leading role, and the film is big-hearted, poetic, sweet, sad and romantic.
  6. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    70
    Indeed, Aranoa loves these women so completely that his film seems overly drawn out at nearly two hours and likely would have had greater effect had it been half an hour shorter. Even so, Princesas remains largely engaging and rewarding.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Holland
    70
    This loosely-structured pic feels authentic, its underdramatized script resolutely nonjudgmental.
  8. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Melissa Levine
    60
    De Aranoa never condescends to his subjects, and Caye's mixture of aggression and tenderness is appealingly authentic.
  9. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Gregory Kirschling
    58
    The way that Aranoa so clearly venerates his lively women feels Almodóvar-esque, but the movie aims most of all to suggest that hookerdom is hell -- and it's neither realistic nor unsentimental enough to pull that off.
  10. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    58
    It's well-acted and strikingly shot, and its depiction of contemporary Spanish squalor is hard to forget, but it never quite reconciles its high-drama situations with its low-key approach. It whispers when it really wants to shout.
  11. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    50
    While the director-screenwriter clearly has a sensitive affinity for his characters, his film lacks narrative momentum and fresh observations.
  12. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    50
    Starts as a serious examination of the two women's lives, but it descends into a mushy melodrama complete with schmaltzy music and dewy cinematography.
  13. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Nathan Lee
    40
    A maudlin melodrama about prostitutes in Madrid, Princesas is not, alas, the new film by Pedro Almodóvar, but a dilution of his manner by the writer-director Fernando León de Aranoa.
prev next
Page:
  • 1

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. MikeD.
    3
    Despite an interesting premise, this movie is dead boring. I thought initially that a movie about hookers couldn't be all that bad - and I was wrong. It's a sappy chick flick that drags on and on. Pass on this movie.… Full Review »
  2. ChadS.
    8
    No pimps; Caye(Candela Pena) and Zulema(Micaela Nevarez) are doin' it for themselves, but they still have the humiliation and stigma of whoring to deal with. No glamour; that's what films like "Princesas" and Lizzie Borden's "Working Girls" want to make clear, prostitutes are like any other worker that provides a service for the customer. They either tolerate you, or hate you. Zulema is like a lot of prostitutes we've met in other movies about the world's oldest confession; she's saving up enough money to return home and care for her son. Caye, on the other hand, is more complex. This thirty-something woman lives at home with her parents as if she was a grad student. Caye clearly doesn't like her job, but she's like Judd Hirsch's character in "Taxi". Like Alex Riegert, she makes no pretenses about her occupation as being some temporary situation. This is her life. She's not like Nancy Allen in "Dressed to Kill", who turns tricks in order to make financial investments. Caye wants to be a hooker, and to be respected by the man she loves. The title refers to Caye's desire to revel in the perk that any other woman enjoys with her boyfriend; to be picked up from work. "Princesas" is graphic, but not too graphic; poignant, and never condescending towards its subject.… Full Review »
  3. DianaR.
    10
    Excellent film and potrayal of the life of prostitutes and the bonds that are made between them. The actress Micaela Nevarez was exceptional and is a natural for the big screen.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »