House of Tolerance

Original title: L'Apollonide (Souvenirs de la maison close)

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

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.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.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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

8.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 6 wins & 15 nominations total

Photos184

+ 177

Top cast50

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Noémie Lvovsky

Marie-France
(as Noemie Lvovsky)

Hafsia Herzi

Samira

Céline Sallette

Clotilde
(as Celine Sallette)

Jasmine Trinca

Julie

Adèle Haenel

Léa
(as Adele Haenel)

Alice Barnole

Madeleine

Iliana Zabeth

Pauline

Judith Lou Lévy

Une prostituée
(as Judith Lou Levy)

Pauline Jacquard

Une prostituée

Anaïs Thomas

Une prostituée

Maia Sandoz

Une prostituée
(as Maïa Sandoz)

Joanna Grudzinska

Une prostituée

Esther Garrel

Une prostituée

Xavier Beauvois

Jacques - un client

Louis-Do de Lencquesaing

Michaux - un client

Jacques Nolot

Maurice - un client

Laurent Lacotte

Le client sadique

Pierre Léon

Un client
(as Pierre Leon)

Director
- Bertrand Bonello
Writer
- Bertrand Bonello
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
There's a short epilogue at the end with a view of modern Paris streets, traffic and some streetwalkers, one of whom is a 'twin' to a brothel prostitute. Bertrand Bonello said that Thierry Frémaux, the artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival, asked him to cut it, though the film still made it into the main competition after Bonello refused. "A lot of people thought I was glorifying the brothels of the time, holding them up as an ideal against today's prostitution, but it was actually much simpler than that. I felt I couldn't end inside the brothel but needed a contrast. I wanted to burst this bubble I had created for two hours, to wake the viewer up, and that wake-up is the return to the present", Bonello said.

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.

Crazy credits
Dedication before end credits: "For Charlotte"

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

Soundtracks
Plaisir d'Amour
Written by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian and Jean-Paul-Égide Martini (as Jean Paul Égide Martini)
Performed by Eloïse Decazes
Piano by Bertrand Bonello

User reviews35

Review

Featured review

8/10

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.