Expected more

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Princsesa is a film based on a true story of a Brazillian transsexual who was dreaming to have a sex operation, which eventually lead her to do prostitution to make her dream come true. This film shows the realistic side of prostitution, how transvestites and transsexual work for money enable to survive, it shows how dark and miserable their lives are. Fernanda is one of the prostitutes that work in the streets of Milan, she wanted to earn a lot of money to support her sex change operation and also to support her family back in Brazil. This two main things are the reason why she moved to Milan until he met Gianni. Their love story was very romantic, and shows how even prostitutes may experience a true love from a stranger in the street. Fernanda was confident about herself that she is pretty enough to earn money for her sex change operation but this confidence fades away when she started to go out with Gianni. With Gianni, she felt the love of a real man to a woman but at the same time this love also made her feel that no matter how much Gianni loves her and even she go through a sex change she will never be a real woman because she cannot bear a child. This was the main reason why she decided to go back to the street and sacrifice her love for Gianni. Overall this movie is really a good one. It touches the reality of prostitution world, the differences of transvestite and transsexual and also the true love that can occur between a transsexual and a heterosexual.

Since Princesa is based on true story, I could understand how transgender is struggle in the society. I think European film is quite different from the other American films that I have watched, and European is likely to focus on sexual scenes. Since Fernanda is prostitute, the mood of the film is dark. The relationship between Fernanda and Gianni is quite touching although it is an affair. Their love story adds the brightness for the plot. It is interesting to see Gianni regards Fernanda as a "real" woman even though Gianni discovers Fernanda is physically male. I think it is amazing for a straight man to love transgender woman in this deep way. In my opinion, the theme of the film is not to discriminate transgender people in the society. If the society will not judge the people such as Fernanda, they could have more opportunity to find a normal job to earn money for their need. I think this film is appealing for only adult since there are too many sexual scenes. It is not appropriate for kids to watch it.

The Brazilian transvestite Fernanda a.k.a. Princesa (Ingrid de Souza) travels to Milan to meet her friend Charlo (Biba Lerhue) and work on the streets as prostitute to raise money for a sex change surgery. Fernanda dreams on changing sex; find her prince charming and have a normal couple life. When Fernanda meets the married lawyer Gianni (Cesare Bocci), her dreams come true: Gianni falls in love for her and leaves his wife Lidia (Alessandra Acciai), moves with Fernanda to an apartment of their own and finances her aimed surgery. However, when Lidia visits Fernanda in her apartment and tells her that she is pregnant, the transsexual realizes that she would never be a complete woman and her relationship with Gianni would not last."Princesa" is a good movie with an unconventional romance of a woman trapped in a man's body that has the dream of most teenagers from the countryside (in her case, from the North of Brazil): to get married and raise a family. The Brazilian director Henrique Goldman uses a stylish grainy image that gives the sensation of documentary in many moments and an amateurish cast that has great performances giving a total credibility to the plot. The sex scenes are not free exploitation but part of the reality of the lives of the transsexual characters in Europe. In spite of the theme, this movie was a pleasant surprise for me. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Princesa" ("Princess")

As many readers know, I was heavily influenced in foreign film by a small channel in Los Angeles during the 1980's called the "Z" channel. Up until that time, I had never seen foreign films or considered them as entertainment. The channel is gone, but this would have been one of the films they would have shown. I say this because this film is not widely shown on cable channels and you have to be lucky to catch it.The central character, Princessa was from South America and was trying to find out whom Princessa as a transsexual was - and it's NOT a pretty road to do so. There's always someone taking advantage while you're trying to be who you are. Princessa travels to Milan to be something she always thought she should be and finding out "to thine own self be true".I found this story sad and moving and probably a very hard story to tell -- and once more, a story that others may be going through. This film is not for everyone, but a brave move to tell a story -- warts and all.