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Princesa (2001)
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:15
Rotten:6
Average Rating:5.8/10
Theatrical Release:Dec 7, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: This Italian film from director Henrique Goldman traces the journey of teenage transsexual Fernanda (Ingrid de Souza) as she heads from her native Brazil to the seedy world of Italy's transsexual... This Italian film from director Henrique Goldman traces the journey of teenage transsexual Fernanda (Ingrid de Souza) as she heads from her native Brazil to the seedy world of Italy's transsexual prostitution scene. Unlike most of her fellow prostitutes, Fernanda's most cherished desire is to have a sex-change operation, fall in love with a man, and live the "normal" life of an Italian woman. When a new client, Gianni (Cesare Bocci), approaches her one night, it seems that her dreams will come true. However, as Fernanda makes the transition from streetwalker to housewife, she discovers that what she left behind might be more fulfilling that what she thought she always wanted. Goldman's treatment of his chosen subject is never judgmental and rarely one-sided--he not only shows great affection and understanding of the transsexual prostitutes, but also seeks to humanize and understand the numerous Italian men who come to them as clients. From the carnival-like Milan street market of the hookers to Fernanda's placid and ordered life with Gianni as a homemaker, PRINCESA avoids lingering on the characters' unusual lifestyles and instead focuses on their complex inner lives. [More]
Starring: Ingrid de Souza, Lulu Pecorari, Cesare Bocci
Starring: Ingrid de Souza, Lulu Pecorari, Cesare Bocci
Director: Henrique Goldman
Director: Henrique Goldman
Screenwriter: Ellis Freeman
Producer: Rebecca O'Brien
Studio: Strand Releasing
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Reviews for Princesa
A sincere film about a transsexual which has universal resonance.
Ultimately glosses over the futility of Fernanda's plight, her misery rapidly erased.
Squanders a colorful setting and characters with uninspired acting and direction.
Fernanda’s trials and lessons are ticked off with a brisk, businesslike air that leaves little time for emotional and character development.
The film suffers from a 'based-on-a- true-story' tag, and it not only polishes up the truth but also crushes everything down to soap-opera melodrama.
[L]ed by the wooden, unattractive Ingrid de Souza as Fernanda, the film has no place to go but down.
Like Mr. Almodóvar in his recent movies, this director goes beyond camp, which can be defined as the travesty of earnest sentiment into a realm of clear and honest emotion.
Deliberately non-gritty but still humane and loving in its depiction of people who don't fit into traditional categories of male/female and whore/john.
Princesa, like its heroine, is not at all what it seems at first. For its immediately straightforward melodramatics leave in the film's wake a haunting afterglow of a life not easily resolved by a screenplay's third act.
[Goldman] tells Princesa's story with admirable simplicity, carefully skirting away from any easy sentimentality or victimization.
Up until its oddly flat ending, Princesa is an honest depiction of the way dreams can backfire.
Fernanda's life unfolds with discretion, compassion and humor under the sensitive yet lively direction of Goldman.
A sympathetic look at what it's like to be a Brazilian transsexual prostitute working in Milan.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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