House of Pleasures
Release date: 2011-09-21
Votes: 260
Genres: Drama
The dawn of the 20th century: L’Apollonide, a luxurious and traditional brothel in Paris, is living its last days. In this closed world, where some men fall in love and others become viciously harmful, the women share their secrets, their fears, their joys and their pains.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Though utterly depressing pretty much from start to finish, this is still a compelling film to watch as we follow a group of girls who are caught up in the most vicious of circles. They all work for "Madame Marie-France" (Noémie Lvovsky) in her slightly upmarket, but now fairly jaded, brothel. It's not just a "knocking shop" - the girls are expected to entertain their guests, to chat, sip Champagne and indulge their paymasters in anything they want. It's a dangerous way of life for these women. They are mired in debt - a debt their hostess ensures never shrinks, how ever much they earn. Some of their clients are benign, even generous - but most are there to treat them as disposable commodities. There's no star as such, each actor has a moment in the sun as we deal with abortion, addiction, violence and even the odd rather naive degree of optimism as "Clotilde" (Céline Sallette), "Julie" (Jasmine Trinca" and "Samira" (Hafsia Herzi) show us just what slavery with gossamer chains looks like. The pace might be a little slow at times, it is prone to a little repetition and the constant stream of (exclusively female) nudity does start to lose it's potency and look a little gratuitous after about an hour; but as a plausible observation of the hopeful amidst hopelessness at a time and in a city where nobody cared much for their plight, this is an engaging story that cleverly mixes up it's narrative with some poignant dialogue and strong performances.
Movie Recommendation
You and the Night2013-09-08Around midnight, a young couple and their transvestite maid prepare for an orgy. Their guests will be The Slut, The Star, The Stud and The Teen.More...
The Secret2007-10-10Husband, wife, and daughter have moved from Boston to Williamstown. At 16, Samantha treats her mother shabbily, but when the two of them are in a horrific car crash, the mother wills Sam to live, somehow losing her own life while her spirit enters Sam.More...
The Stick2020-01-22Aava has but one wish: to get a dog. Meanwhile, her parents' marriage is falling apart.More...
The Sweet Smell of Death1994-09-29A notorious sex fiend camouflaged as a playboy real estate agent is out of control. Can he be stopped? The police are in hot pursuit, but time after time the killer rapist slips through the cracks...More...
Emmanuelle: First Contact1994-06-20Emmanuelle makes first contact...when a group of intergalactic travelers arrives, seeking to understand human love and sexuality. Who better to teach them than Emmanuelle, the most sensual woman in the world...and beyond.More...
Love Me Not2012-04-12A sweet and daring portrait of blurred sexuality and love complications, this independent feature tells the story of Dennis and Aggie, pals since primary school and roommates for five years. He works in a painting studio while she’s a photographer and aspiring filmmaker. Both are gay, but inseparable as friends. Matters become tense, however, when Dennis announces an arranged marriage and Aggie finds herself increasingly jealous.More...
Elles2011-09-09A journalist tries to balance the duties of marriage and motherhood while researching a piece on college women who work as prostitutes to pay their tuition.More...
L'Argent1983-05-18A forged 500-franc note is passed from person to person and shop to shop, until it falls into the hands of a genuine innocent who doesn't see it for what it is—which will have devastating consequences on his life.More...
The Duke of Burgundy2014-10-18Day in and day out, lovers Cynthia and Evelyn enact an elaborate sadomasochistic fantasy as mistress and maid. But as their ritual of domination and submission begins to turn stale, Cynthia yearns for something more conventional, while Evelyn tries to push their taboos even further.More...
Forever Rich2021-10-01This is the story of Richie and his journey to become the greatest rap-artist in the Netherlands. One evening he is violently mugged by a group of teenagers and loses his most prized possession: an expensive watch. When images of the humiliating robbery go viral, Richie's hard-earned reputation is damaged.More...
The Names of Love2010-11-24Bahia Benmahmoud, a free-spirited young woman, has a particular way of seeing political engagement, as she doesn't hesitate to sleep with those who don't agree with her to convert them to her cause - which is a lot of people, as all right-leaning people are concerned. Generally, it works pretty well. Until the day she meets Arthur Martin, a discreet forty-something who doesn't like taking risks. She imagines that with a name like that, he's got to be slightly fascist. But names are deceitful and appearances deceiving.More...
Afire2023-04-20Self-important author Leon joins his best friend on a summer holiday near the Baltic Sea to complete his novel. When they arrive, they find their house is already occupied by a carefree woman who challenges Leon to open up. Meanwhile, forest wildfires rage around them and impending disaster looms.More...
The Last Metro1980-09-17In occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Nazis while doing both of their jobs.More...
We Have a Pope2011-04-15The newly elected Pope suffers a panic attack just as he is about to greet the faithful who have gathered to see him. His advisors, unable to convince him he is the right man for the job, call on a renowned therapist who also happens to be an atheist. But the Pope's fear of his newfound responsibility is one he must face alone. Winner Best Film at the Italian Golden Globes.More...
Somewhere2010-09-03After withdrawing to the Chateau Marmont, a passionless Hollywood actor reexamines his life when his eleven-year-old daughter surprises him with a visit.More...
Black Dog2024-06-14On the edge of the Gobi desert in Northwest China, Lang returns to his hometown after being released from jail. While working for the local dog patrol team to clear the town of stray dogs before the Olympic Games, he strikes up an unlikely connection with a black dog. These two lonely souls embark on a journey together.More...
The World to Come2021-02-12In 1856, two women forge a close connection despite their isolation on the American frontier.More...
Standing Tall2015-05-13The film tells the story of Malony and his education as he grows from a six-year-old into an 18-year-old. A minors’ judge and a caseworker work tirelessly to try to save the young offender.More...
A Little Chaos2015-03-26A landscape gardener is hired by famous architect Le Nôtre to construct the grand gardens at the palace of Versailles. As the two work on the palace, they find themselves drawn to each other and are thrown into rivalries within the court of King Louis XIV.More...
Tulip Fever2017-07-13An artist falls for a married young woman while he's commissioned to paint her portrait. The two invest in the risky tulip market in hopes to build a future together.More...
Similar Movies
The Rules of the Game...
1939-07-09A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances.Cruel Intentions
1999-03-05Slaking a thirst for dangerous games, Kathryn challenges her stepbrother, Sebastian, to deflower their headmaster's daughter before the summer ends. If he succeeds, the prize is the chance to bed Kathryn. But if he loses, Kathryn will claim his most prized possession.Lolita
1962-06-13Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.Moulin Rouge!
2001-05-18A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate affair with the club's most notorious and beautiful star.Dangerous Liaisons
1988-12-21In 18th century France, Marquise de Merteuil asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don’t go as planned.Sliver
1993-05-21A woman moves into an apartment in Manhattan and learns that the previous tenant's life ended mysteriously after they fell from the balcony.Belle de Jour
1967-05-24Beautiful young housewife Séverine Serizy cannot reconcile her masochistic fantasies with her everyday life alongside dutiful husband Pierre. When her lovestruck friend Henri mentions a secretive high-class brothel run by Madame Anais, Séverine begins to work there during the day under the name Belle de Jour. But when one of her clients grows possessive, she must try to go back to her normal life.La Jetée
1962-02-16A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.The Pink Room
2011-02-01After selling herself at fourteen to a brothel inside her home town of Svay Pak, Mien takes an undesired path all over Cambodia for the remainder of her teenage life. At twenty, her path crosses with a group of people fighting to make a difference, bringing her long and onerous journey back to face where it all began. The Pink Room is an intertwined story of the heart-rending, epic battle to end sex slavery, from rescue to prevention, and experiencing first hand, the need to change not just individuals, but the communities they come from. Most documentaries on trafficking only bring awareness to the problem. This film bring awareness to the solutions.The Party
1980-12-17A thirteen-year-old French girl deals with moving to a new city and school in Paris, while at the same time her parents are getting a divorce.The Party 2
1982-12-08A young French teenage girl after moving to a new city falls in love with a boy and is thinking of having sex with him because her girlfriends have already done it.Paradise Found
2003-01-01Paradise Found is a biography about the painter Paul Gauguin. Focusing on his personal conflict between citizen life and his family life and the art scene in Frane. In an incredible imagery montage Gauguin manages to make a successful living in the South Pacific, while being in opposition to France.Stolen Kisses
1968-09-04The third in a series of films featuring François Truffaut's alter-ego, Antoine Doinel, the story resumes with Antoine being discharged from military service. His sweetheart Christine's father lands Antoine a job as a security guard, which he promptly loses. Stumbling into a position assisting a private detective, Antoine falls for his employers' seductive wife, Fabienne, and finds that he must choose between the older woman and Christine.Antoine and Colette
1962-06-22Now aged 17, Antoine Doinel works in a factory which makes records. At a music concert, he meets a girl his own age, Colette, and falls in love with her. Later, Antoine goes to extraordinary lengths to please his new girlfriend and her parents, but Colette still only regards him as a casual friend. First segment of “Love at Twenty” (1962).Bed and Board
1970-09-09Parisian everyman Antoine Doinel has married his sweetheart Christine Darbon, and the newlyweds have set up a cozy domestic life of selling flowers and giving violin lessons while Antoine fitfully works on his long-gestating novel. As Christine becomes pregnant with the couple's first child, Antoine finds himself enraptured with a young Japanese beauty. The complications change the course of their relationship forever.Love on the Run
1979-01-24Antoine is now 30, working as a proofreader and getting divorced from his wife. It's the first "no-fault" divorce in France and a media circus erupts, dredging up Antoine's past. Indecisive about his new love with a store clerk, he impulsively takes off with an old flame.American Beauty
1999-09-15Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.Dreams of Love
1970-10-22This is a romantic biographical film about Franz Liszt. In a distinguished saloon of Paris, the unknown composer, Liszt, defeats the renown Thalberg at a piano competition. Through his playing, he wins the favours and later the hand of the countess D'Agoult. A daughter is born in their marriage, Cosima. Liszt is better and better known, Marie introduces him to the circle of artists.The Crime Is Mine
2023-02-24In 1930s Paris, Madeleine, a pretty, young, penniless, and talentless actress, is accused of murdering a famous producer. Helped by her best friend, Pauline, a young, unemployed lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. A new life of fame and success begins, until the truth comes out.Live and Become
2005-03-30In 1980, the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews and are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy.