House of Tolerance

A lot of viewers criticize the film as dark, dull, disturbing, etc. In my opinion after watching this, though, I have not yet to watch or read any interviews about this film, I feel like it is the director's intent. It intended you to feel disturbed in the first place. It has the potential to make us feel that something's not right or what was happening to their lives were wrong.

This movie has obviously a deeper meaning behind the hardship of the women, manipulation of the madam, luxury of the men, all in the of the "House of Tolerance". And you, as an audience, needed to watch it for you to know those meanings and see from your own perspective.

If you don't speak French it's somewhat difficult to follow the subtitles, but once you get the hang of it, of course it becomes easier as It usually does with foreign films.

I think this is a pretty realistic portrayal of what it would be like to work in a somewhat up-scale brothel in Paris at this time.

Of course the prostitutes that work there, work there out of need and not because they enjoy this line of work. In fact they get their emotional needs met from each other. Definitely not from the men who buy them for their pleasure.

Overall I think the film was quite well done and showed the complexities of such an environment at this time in history in Paris France.

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.

A dozen young prostitutes in a luxury brothel held by a madam, at the twilight of the nineteenth century. We may see women scarcely dressed, men from the Parisian bourgeoisie, champagne in abundance, a black panther, ... within felted lounges. Objects of fascination, fantasies or sometimes the tenderness of their customers, these young prostitutes circulate in a universe that will soon be a memory. One of them will be disfigured by a consumer as perverse as sadistic.

Filmed with a breathtaking mastery of the frame. Moreover, the costumes and sets are top. It's an aesthetic shock. The actresses and actors are excellent, Céline Sallette especially.

Nicely acted and photographed, this could however easily be very depressing - not only in the unvarnished depiction of life in a Paris brothel 100 years ago but in the clear message that things aren't too different today.

Debt, disease and the possibility of shocking violence are ever-present, although conversations among the women about jobs that they have done beforehand (e.g. The "industrial injury" side of being a launderess) suggest that being a prostitute wasn't necessarily the *worst* option available.

Sobering stuff, but the camaraderie looks real and softens the tone somewhat. Recommended.