House of Tolerance (2011)

At an elegant Parisian bordello at the dawn of the 20th century, exists a cloistered world of pleasure, pain, hope, rivalries, and most of all, slavery.

Director:

Bertrand Bonello

Writer:

Bertrand Bonello (scenario)

Stars:

Noémie Lvovsky, Hafsia Herzi, Céline Sallette

4 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Noémie Lvovsky	...	Marie-France
Hafsia Herzi	...	Samira
Céline Sallette	...	Clotilde
Jasmine Trinca	...	Julie
Adèle Haenel	...	Léa
Alice Barnole	...	Madeleine
Iliana Zabeth	...	Pauline
Pauline Jacquard
Judith Lou Lévy	...	(as Judith Lou Levy)
Anaïs Thomas
Maia Sandoz	...	(as Maïa Sandoz)
Joanna Grudzinska
Esther Garrel
Xavier Beauvois
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing

Storyline

Life in an elegant Parisian brothel in the early twentieth century. The madam essentially owns the women: their expenses exceed earnings, they are in debt. They face problems of pregnancy, opium, age, and violent clients. One reads sociology at her peril. Occasionally, a client talks of marriage. There are also friendships and affection among the women. The madam is in a dispute with her landlord and calls on influential clients to help. There's a picnic one summer day, a wake, and an evening in masks. Have they expectations? In a coda, we watch a street scene in contemporary Paris.

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Plot Keywords:

brothel | french prostitute | voyeurism | debauchery | lust | 

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Taglines:

An Aesthetic Shock.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

25 November 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

House of Tolerance

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

€4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,766, 18 November 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$19,327, 18 December 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Lendemain, My New Picture, Arte France Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The casting says "Clotilde" but her name is misspelled (as "Clothilde", rather a common error in France) in the movie when we see the lines of name/debt written by the matron.

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Goofs

A character says he's been to the inauguration ceremony of the Paris Metro. After that there is a scene where we hear fireworks for Bastille Day (14 July). The opening of the Paris Metro (Line 1) was on 19 July 1900, five days after Bastille Day.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.23 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Sa Muguette
by Hector Pellerin

User Reviews

Beautiful and real

I loved this film, I am surprised to see more than one review damning the film for a lack of plot. There is most definitely a plot it's subtle and thoughtful but the characters all have an arc and, for some, very definite resolutions.

The cast are superb, even those with the smallest roles present fully rounded individuals of whom it's possible to infer their lives outside the bounded world presented to us. The relationships between the women of the house both amongst themselves and with their clients are rich and true.

Although full of sex and sexuality nothing is gratuitous or titillating but real and honest. Sometimes good, sometimes dreadful, sometimes funny, sometimes a violation.

This was a film that I would have been happy to watch for another two hours , I didn't want to leave these women behind.