The final result becomes a search not for a knight in shining armor, but one of acceptance for one's own identity.
80
VarietyDavid Rooney
VarietyDavid Rooney
A thoughtful, restrained, refreshingly nonjudgmental melodrama that reflects on interesting questions regarding sexuality, identity and self-acceptance.
75
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
An engaging and powerful portrayal of puberty gone awry.
70
New Times (L.A.)David Ehrenstein
New Times (L.A.)David Ehrenstein
It's odd for a film to be both dramatically conventional yet emotionally bizarre at the same time, as this one is.
It could easily have become either prurient or moralistic, but Mr. Goldman's stance is that of a sympathetic observer, and his style combines ground-level realism with a touch of Almodóvarian extravagance.
63
New York PostV.A. Musetto
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Features abundant sex and nudity, yet it manages to tell its story (based on a real character) with great sensitivity.
60
Village VoiceEd Park
Village VoiceEd Park
Unsettling in spots, Princesa ultimately glosses over the futility of Fernanda's plight, her misery rapidly erased.
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
This raw and raunchy drama from director Henrique Goldman offers what few feature films have ever bothered to attempt: a realistic, wholly sympathetic look at the lives of transgendered prostitutes.
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
An evocative melancholy hangs over Princesa, Henrique Goldman's intermittently affecting tale.