House of Pleasures
Directed by Bertrand Bonello
Ambitious and elegantly made, Bertrand Bonello’s film depicts life in a Paris brothel at the turn of the 20th century. Staying within the house’s walls for all but two brief (but important) moments, the scenario details the clients and day-to-day lives of a variety of the working women within including Madeleine, who suffers a terrible fate at the hand of a client; voluptuous new girl Pauline; Algerian beauty Samira (Secret of the Grain’s Hafsia Herzi); and the no-nonsense madam Marie-France (the always wonderful Noémie Lvovsky). Using a variety of techniques, including split screen and an anachronistic soundtrack, House of Pleasures reflects on the world’s oldest profession in an entirely new way.
TRAILER
"Not many films have ever approached the possibilities afforded by the slippery subjectivity of cinematic time so directly, or with such intelligence. 4 stars" —Slant Magazine
"Slowly creeping up from what at first seems to only be empirical beauty, House of Pleasures unveils an emotional core in its finale that offers a level of cumulative catharsis that reaches inexplicable heights." —ION cinema
"Exquisitely realised as a fever dream of lust and fancy inside a protected space, an erotic realm where fantasy can come true at a cost (and one that can occasionally turn out to be too high), Mr. Bonello's languid moodpiece slowly envelops the viewers in its poetic, poisonous charms." —The Flickering Wall
L’Apollonide (Souvenirs de la Maison Close). France 2011, 122 min. Written by Bertrand Bonello. Photographed by Josée Deshaies. With Hafsia Herzi, Noémie Lvovsky, Xavier Beauvois. IFC Films. In French with subtitles.
Tickets $9 for SFFS members, $11 general, $10 senior/student/disabled. Box office open online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema.
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Read the San Francisco Chronicle review "...very original and very good." |
TRAILER
"Not many films have ever approached the possibilities afforded by the slippery subjectivity of cinematic time so directly, or with such intelligence. 4 stars" —Slant Magazine
"Slowly creeping up from what at first seems to only be empirical beauty, House of Pleasures unveils an emotional core in its finale that offers a level of cumulative catharsis that reaches inexplicable heights." —ION cinema
"Exquisitely realised as a fever dream of lust and fancy inside a protected space, an erotic realm where fantasy can come true at a cost (and one that can occasionally turn out to be too high), Mr. Bonello's languid moodpiece slowly envelops the viewers in its poetic, poisonous charms." —The Flickering Wall
L’Apollonide (Souvenirs de la Maison Close). France 2011, 122 min. Written by Bertrand Bonello. Photographed by Josée Deshaies. With Hafsia Herzi, Noémie Lvovsky, Xavier Beauvois. IFC Films. In French with subtitles.
Tickets $9 for SFFS members, $11 general, $10 senior/student/disabled. Box office open online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema.
March 30–April 5
Showtimes 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 (2:00 & 4:30 shows only on April 3)
SF Film Society Cinema
1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan)
Showtimes 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 (2:00 & 4:30 shows only on April 3)
SF Film Society Cinema
1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan)