Sometimes, I still think about Pretty Woman, the most popular celluloid fairytale about the life of a prostitute ever made. As so-called working girl, Julia Roberts never kisses clients on the lips and instead, indulges in whirlpool baths. In Fernando León de Aranoa's Princesas, Caye and Zulema, two melancholic whores in Madrid, also have rules when it comes to work: they will not, for instance, take it up the ass. Crude, yes, but so is the sex they have in back alleys, cars and hospital rooms. Different worlds, clearly. The actresses, while attractive, do not possess Robert's movie star looks. Caye and Zulema rarely smile. They do not light up the screen. Arano's award winning film provides an honest, sobering portrait of the days and nights of a prostitute.
Caye (Candela Pena) and Zulema (Michaela Nevarez) are unlikely friends. Caye is from Madrid and hails from a middle class family. Zulema is an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic; they meet when Zulema steals a potential client by offering a lower rate for her services. Work, however, despite turf wars and price disputes, is work; after Caye finds Zulema badly beaten and takes her to the hospital, the women form a fast alliance. They are surprisingly good to each other, confidantes and helpmates.
While the tender and soliticious relationship between the friends is touching, Princesas often drags. From beginning to end, Caye is an inscrutable character. She dreams of a boyfriend who will pick her up after work--yet never considers a profession where such a simple reality might become possible. Instead, she saves her money for breast implants. Indeed, Caye frequently delivers monologues about fairy princesses, leading lost lives outside their kingdom. Where a grounded Zulema wants to earn money to send home to her five year old son, Caye yearns to be Julia Roberts. She is not the brightest person on the block, and despite filmmaker Aranoa's earnest intentions, does not seem quite worthy of the time devoted to her.
