House of Tolerance

This French language film by Bertrand Bonello, is set in a Parisian brothel, a ‘house of tolerance’, at the turn of the 20^th century. Trailers would have you believe it’s a beautiful portrayal of the inner workings of such a house, but from the outset it is clear that this is not going to be the case. Although visually stunning, the more the film goes on the more the facade is lifted to reveal a darker truth of constant fear of pregnancy, syphilis or violence masked behind the corsets, perfume and endless grooming.

The film begins in the late 1800s depicting a single fateful night where Madeleine is re-telling a dream to one of her regulars, in which he presented her with an emerald with which to pay her debts and buy her freedom. The lingering hope she had felt after the dream results in her allowing him to tie her up and be caressed by his knife, what follows is gently threatening until the blade enters her mouth and is used to slash her a smile from ear to ear. This haunting scene is flashed intermittently between scenes of the relaxed champagne-filled atmosphere of the party downstairs. Time then moves on to when the once highly sought after Madeleine has become the cook, cleaner and general carer of the remaining beauties, while her injury and clients have rebranded her “the woman who laughs”. Meanwhile the landlord is demanding an increase in the rent of the premises and the madam, a voluptuous and previous worker of the floor herself, is pushed to find ways to either appeal to his better nature or make up the difference. The former is tried and fails resulting in her harsher treatment of the girls and demand an increase in the amount of clients they can attend to in one evening. At the same time a young girl writes to her in order to secure a position at the prestigious maison de tolerance, entering with no debt the 15-year old takes great risk in starting such a career. Her youth and novelty make her a welcome addition among the usual clients, especially those slightly weary with their regular ladies and although welcomed into the bosom of the family they have created for themselves, she is not quite what she appears.

Times get even harder when one girl falls to syphilis and another to addiction, in desperate need of money the madam is persuaded to “lend” the laughing lady to a host of obscure parties where she is showcased alongside dwarfs and people with more unusual features and their admirers. The efforts are made to no avail and the house is forced to close, bowing out in style, the penultimate scene is that of their final party, a Bastille Day masquerade ball where everything is on the house.

It’s not an easy film to watch in places and the stark parallels it draws between the belle époque and modern day are haunting and as hard to shake as the flashing scenes of the creation of the woman who laughs. It is truly thought-provoking and ultimately a tale of formulating families in the most unlikely of places in order to survive.