Princesas 2005

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: It's well-acted and strikingly shot, but it never quite reconciles its high-drama situations with its low-key approach. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Writer-director Fernando Leon 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. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: Aranoa sketches a melancholy based on accurate human observation. Read more

Gregory Kirschling, Entertainment Weekly: The way that Aranoa so clearly venerates his lively women feels Almodovar-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. Read more

John Patterson, L.A. Weekly: Aranoa's film is a small miracle of controlled empathy. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: In Princesas, [writer-director Fernando Leon de Aranoa] leaves too many loose ends hanging about, but his sentiments are noble. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: Women become prostitutes for different reasons, and the reasons driving the main characters in Spanish writer-director Fernando Leon de Aranoa's earnest tale of friendship couldn't be more different. Read more

Nick Funnell, Time Out: Compelling, frequently funny and, commendably, resists wrapping things up sentimentally. Nice Manu Chao soundtrack, too. Read more

Jonathan Holland, Variety: Fernando Leon de Aranoa confirms his Loach-like ability to convert marginalized subjects into socially committed cinema. Read more

Melissa Levine, Village Voice: De Aranoa never condescends to his subjects, and Caye's mixture of aggression and tenderness is appealingly authentic. Could this be the first film to use a cell phone ringtone to devastating emotional effect? Read more