House of Tolerance

House of Tolerance
French poster
Directed by	Bertrand Bonello
Produced by	Kristina Larsen Bertrand Bonello
Written by	Bertrand Bonello
Starring	Hafsia Herzi Céline Sallette Jasmine Trinca Adèle Haenel Alice Barnole Iliana Zabeth Noémie Lvovsky
Music by	Bertrand Bonello
Cinematography	Josée Deshaies
Edited by	Fabrice Rouaud
Production company	Les Films du Lendemain My New Picture
Distributed by	Haut et Court
Release dates	16 May 2011 (2011-05-16) (Cannes Film Festival) 21 September 2011 (2011-09-21) (France)
Running time	125 minutes
Country	France
Language	French
Budget	$3.8 million
Box office	$1.5 miliion

House of Tolerance (French: L'Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close, also known as House of Pleasures), is 2011 French drama film directed by Bertrand Bonello, starring Céline Sallette, Hafsia Herzi, Jasmine Trinca, Adèle Haenel, Alice Barnole, Iliana Zabeth and Noémie Lvovsky. The film premiered In Competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

The story is set in a luxurious Parisian brothel (a maison close, like Le Chabanais) in the dawning of the 20th century and follows the closeted life of a group of prostitutes: their rivalries, their hopes, their fears, their pleasures, and their pains.

Cast

• Céline Sallette as Clotilde
• Hafsia Herzi as Samira
• Jasmine Trinca as Julie
• Adèle Haenel as Léa
• Alice Barnole as Madeleine
• Iliana Zabeth as Pauline
• Noémie Lvovsky as Marie-France
• Louis-Do de Lencquesaing as Michaux
• Xavier Beauvois as Jacques
• Jacques Nolot as Maurice

Production

File:Apollonide 2012 4.jpg

Members of the cast and producers at the 2012 Prix Lumières. Left to right: Bertrand Bonello, Iliana Zabeth, Pauline Jacquard, Maïa Sandoz, Judith Lou Lévy, Alice Barnole, Adèle Haenel, Noémie Lvovsky, unidentified.

The genesis of the project was a merge of two film ideas Bertrand Bonello had been thinking of. About ten years earlier he had tried to make a film about modern brothels, but the project had been cancelled. After finishing On War from 2008, Bonello decided that he wanted his next film to be about dynamics within a group of females, and his partner suggested a film about prostitutes in a historical setting. The director then became interested in the aspect of a brothel as a closed world from the viewpoint of the prostitutes. The idea of a scar in the form of a smile came from the film The Man Who Laughs, an adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel with the same name. Bonello says he dreamed about the film two nights in a row while he was writing House of Tolerance, and decided to include a female character with such a scar.

The film was a co-production between Les Films du Lendemain and the director's company My New Picture, in collaboration with Arte France Cinéma. The production received 540,000 euro from the CNC and 416,000 euro from the Île-de-France region, as well as pre-sales investment from Canal+ and CinéCinéma. The total budget was 3.8 million euro. Casting took almost nine months. Bonello wanted a mixed ensemble of both professionals and amateurs who above all worked well together as a group.

Filming started in Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse on 31 May 2010 and lasted eight weeks. The film was recorded on one continuous set, which allowed the camera to move between each room without cuts. Bonello chose to focus the camera on the girls and almost never their clients. He explained: "it reinforces the impression that the prostitute is above the client. I told the actresses: 'Be careful, I want twelve intelligent girls.' It was really important for me: they're not being fooled, they are strong women."

Release

The film had its premiere at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival where it played In Competition on 16 May 2011. It was the fourth time a film by Bonello was screened at the festival, and the second time in the main competition, after Tiresia from 2003. Haut et Court distributed the film in France, where it was released on 21 September 2011.

External links

• House of Tolerance at IMDb