With not a pimp in sight, no mention of people-trafficking, and a single token drug-addict, this Spanish prostitution drama is serenely old-fashioned.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 28, 2007

The film has inspirational messages about the rewards of multicultural integration, but its tacit approval of prostitution as a rewarding career choice seems a bit peculiar.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 28, 2007

Princesas is heartwarming and sporadically surprising, bolstered by beautifully measured performances.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 28, 2007

Compelling, frequently funny and, commendably, resists wrapping things up sentimentally. Nice Manu Chao soundtrack, too.

| Dec 28, 2007

Impressively directed, emotionally engaging drama with terrific performances from Candela Pena and newcomer Micaela Nevrez.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 27, 2007

Despite the difficult subject matter, there is colour and energy to the storytelling that betrays a diehard optimism and is vaguely reminiscent of Pedro Almodovar's films. Aranoa keeps a loose, fluid feel to the action and ups the tempo with music.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 25, 2007

Slow moving but generally interesting...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 26, 2007

One of the very best films ever made about that most enduring of professions, prostitution.

| Mar 1, 2007

The most engaging presentation from the perspective of an exploited, female underclass since the equally-evocative Maria, Full of Grace.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 9, 2007

Una pelcula entraable y conmovedora sobre la amistad y la solidaridad entre dos mujeres, con dos estupendas actrices.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 13, 2006

Aranoa sketches a melancholy based on accurate human observation.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 27, 2006

While Princesas offers sensitive and beautifully wrought performances by its two leads (Candela Pena and Micaela Nevarez, who each won Goya Awards), the film offers little new in way of substance or theme.

Full Review | Sep 7, 2006

Writer-director Fernando Len de Aranoa embraces a pair of Madrid streetwalkers with such affection and compassion that their story, even though prostitutes are a staple of the movies, actually seems fresh and distinctive.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 1, 2006

Princesas rehearses 'hooker with a heart of gold' tropes and indulges Almodvarian clichs of Spanish spunk and solidarity.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 1, 2006

Aranoa's film is a small miracle of controlled empathy.

| Aug 31, 2006

Fernando Leon de Aranoa confirms his Loach-like ability to convert marginalized subjects into socially committed cinema.

| Aug 25, 2006

In Princesas, [writer-director Fernando Len de Aranoa] leaves too many loose ends hanging about, but his sentiments are noble.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 25, 2006

Women become prostitutes for different reasons, and the reasons driving the main characters in Spanish writer-director Fernando Len de Aranoa's earnest tale of friendship couldn't be more different.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 25, 2006

This is a long film, but easy on the eyes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 25, 2006

It's well-acted and strikingly shot, but it never quite reconciles its high-drama situations with its low-key approach.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Aug 25, 2006