Bordélyház

House of Pleasures should not be watched by anyone who is primarily interested in a strong story, an interesting plot, and character development. None of these things are in Bonello's film. He focuses primarily on capturing the atmosphere of the time or at least how the director imagines such a brothel atmosphere from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in Paris in his artistic fantasy. Clearly, he considers it a part of the contemporary culture and finds the closure of brothels and the relocation of prostitution to the streets to be a loss of a piece of old Paris. At the same time, Bonello is a director who indulges in what I call artistic masturbation, meaning he strives for an artistic dimension in his film, so be prepared for long dialogues, empty gazes, ejaculate pouring from the eyes, etc. The viewer can gain some idea about the customs of the time regarding sexual matters, but it is certainly not a historically accurate view of the operations of brothels in that era, partly because the director idealizes their atmosphere and portrays the employees almost like the most exemplary work collective, where the girls feel somehow united and selflessly help and sympathize with each other. I would say that the ordinary operations and employees were much more down-to-earth and somewhat rougher even in the more luxurious category in which the film is set. Also, because those girls were essentially trapped there and didn't normally get out, cabin fever was probably quite common. The film didn't impress me because I don't really understand what the author wanted to convey, but it didn't offend me either because it is well cast with attractive actresses who also act decently, and the film can be credited with having a decent production design. Overall impression: 55%. (2011.11.27)

House of Pleasures is literally decadence and depression. The world of kerosene lamps, corsets, syphilis, and exaggerated make-up accompanies a group of girls from the famous red-light house in Paris at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. While Coppola set the tone in Marie Antoinette, Bonello became one of her many followers and decided to approach the destruction and pain of this world with the help of a-historical music. He also provided a slightly different perception of the world through the editing and he did a good job of it. The endlessly sad eyes of the crippled Jewish woman, Julia's never-fulfilled hopes, and the bright visions of the youngest girl’s acquisition of property are all framed by an almost palpable sense of moral unease. (2011.12.05)

This film is crucial for how the brothel is depicted. The rawness, almost naturalism of how some aspects of life in the brothel are recorded, is really disarming and can make watching it quite unpleasant. It's also because the story itself is almost secondary here, as the individual episodes are more important. (2017.04.07)