Princesses 2020

At Gloria’s Hair Salon, Leslie, Daurine Morlighem, and Lindsay, Lorina Coffaro, share conversations about life, politics, and the rhythms of their neighborhood while Caye takes a rare moment off. The salon becomes a small theater for a tense rivalry: many of the women are prostitutes themselves, and they harbor a mutual resentment toward the immigrant prostitutes they observe nearby, convinced these outsiders are stealing clients and income that should belong to them.

Caye’s perspective shifts when she meets Zulema, an illegal immigrant prostitute who is sending money home to her mother and her son Edward back in the Dominican Republic. The two women form a bond that grows into real, practical support—sharing fashion tips, shopping help, and hair-styling ideas—creating a sense of companionship that transcends their difficult circumstances.

To anchor Zulema in Caye’s world, Caye brings her to her mother’s house for dinner. Meanwhile, Caye’s phone keeps ringing, and she stubbornly refuses to answer, leaving her mother puzzled and a little worried about what she’s hiding. Zulema volunteers to teach sex education at Caye’s sister-in-law’s school, a gesture that also helps her send a toy truck to her son, a small touch of normalcy amid chaos.

The plot thickens when Caye meets Manuel, a computer programmer, outside a club. With some pressure, Caye convinces him to spend time with her. Over beers at a café, Caye confesses she is a prostitute. Manuel laughs at first, finds the claim unbelievable, and the relationship begins with an uneasy start that gradually deepens into something more complex.

Zulema reveals a troubling confession about a man who physically abuses her while promising papers that would legitimize her status and bring her family to Spain. Caye grows wary and begs Zulema not to go with him. Her suspicions prove warranted: the man’s intentions are coercive rather than protective. Zulema escapes a first encounter with Caye’s intervention, but she is later lured to a hotel room where the client turns out to be her abuser, and she is beaten and presumably raped. After a moment with a compassionate volunteer, she goes to the hospital for a full medical exam, and the results imply a serious, potentially fatal, communicable condition. In a grim act of revenge, she returns to confront her abuser with unprotected sex.

While at the hospital with Zulema, Caye receives a call from a client requesting her services for himself and his friends. She heads to the cafe where they have arranged to meet and unexpectedly runs into Manuel and a group of his coworkers, realizing that they were the ones requesting her services and thus learning of Manuel’s infidelity. Manuel understands—without a word—that Caye’s profession is real, and the two of them silently part ways.

Devastated by Zulema’s health crisis, she decides to return to the Dominican Republic. Caye gives Zulema a makeover and an envelope of cash, urging her to go be happy. That afternoon, during dinner with her family, Caye reveals that Zulema has returned home because the life she led as a prostitute had become unbearable, especially the emotional burden and the distance from her son.

The film closes on a charged, unresolved note as Caye’s cellphone rings once again. Her mother asks whether she’s going to answer this time, and Caye simply says, You answer it, mom!