Speechless I was at the end of this French movie. What could I possibly write in order to share my experience with my readers here. The entire entry could well be summed up in two words: C’est tragique. Too much to process after the show, my mind just went blank. House of Pleasures does not glorify prostitution, which is good. With a group of actresses who are naked or semi-naked most of the time, strange to say, there is nothing erotic about this movie either. Is it seductive? Yes. The costume is beautiful and some scenes are tantalizing. But there is also enough grotesque and fear that darkens the overall mood. In this tragic setting, the camaraderie within the group of prostitutes under the same roof is what holding the story together. Sex is transformed into a pure monetary transaction. The preparation and after the act routines add much realism to the profession. And because of that, fantasy and eroticism is diminished leaving behind what it is seen through the eyes of the prostitutes on a day-to-day basis. House of Pleasures is a movie told from the prostitutes’ perspective. To them, there is no pleasure about the business. It is what they do in order to make a living.
The year is 1899. At the turn of the century, what future does it lie for the brothels that are specially catered for the French aristocracy and the high society? In this particular brothel run by Marie-France – a single mother with two kids – the courtesans are hygienically cleaned and seductively dressed. Every evening, inside a luxurious living room, wealthy clients mangle with the girls. This scene almost viewed like a high society party with free flow of champagnes and cigarettes. Someone is playing the piano. Girls entertaining the guys. There is laughter and small talk. Some clients like what they see and the business is concluded in the bedrooms upstairs. Some stay in the house till eight in the morning when the ‘commerce’ hours are long over. There is this illusion of love. Most girls dream to have their debt paid fully one day and be free. The prospect of marriage at the end of their career is non-existence, and the girls know it. The threat of deadly diseases is real, and it persists throughout the movie. Each client has his fetish. Some are deadlier than others. This bets the questions of: If sex can be paid by money, what else can money buy? One girl is brutally disfigured by a client she grew to trust. The landlord’s decision to increase rent threatens the very survival of this brothel. What can Marie-France do? Close down the business and sell the girls’ debt to other brothels? What is going to happen to the prostitutes we as an audience have made a connection with in this two hours long movie?
House of Pleasures has an open ending. While the backdrop of the movie is set in 1899 and 1900, there is a short clip showing modern day street prostitution. Perhaps, that is the answer. The world’s oldest profession never ends.
I have my respect to the director Bertrand Bonello. This movie could have been watched like a porn movie and it is not. Because the rest of the film is so much more engaging than the sterile sex scenes within. The continuous shooting and split screen methods blend the different themes and concepts into one, resulting in a holistic story of: This is prostitution.