Benjamin Martens
11May13
Too many obscure words, too much jargon. I can understand you, but I don't pleasure in that fact.
Wall
Displaying wall posts 1 - 30 of 57 in total
Chuck Williamson
6May13
An elegiac study of fin de siècle sexual politics, House of Pleasures often resembles a Pre-Raphaelite paintings brought to life. The brushstrokes of light and shadow conceal (or at least obfuscate) the artifice of its gilded interiors and studied haut-bourgeois trappings, the gossomer-thin fiction of blank-faced passivity and languid eroticism.
soiwaswrong
28Mar13
It's really nice to see when prostitutes, sex, drama and art are combined perfectly, even though the story was expected (life of prostitutes; their dreams, their encounters etc).. And also, the lighting and the color was renaissance like, it's like watching a moving painting...
(Queen of the Mods)
13Feb13
brilliant. if i could only adjust the lighting in life to look like every last frame in this movie.
wendy and lucy likes this
Brian K.
8Jan13
A film about the fluid nature of time: split-screens, elliptical editing, a flash-forward, anachronistic music, and period details all mingle on the film's surface. Meanwhile, the women of l'Apollonide go about their day-to-day business, haunted equally by past events and the ever-slimming possibilities that lay on their horizons. Beautifully shot, House of Tolerance explores time's ghastly, relentless potential.
marcorenton
30Dec12
Hearing The House of The Rising Sun in this was a bit weird, didn't fit so well.
Carlos Filipe Freitas
26Nov12
We can feel their pain even without overdramatic or sentimental scenes showing up. Review and rating: http://alwayswatchgoodmovies.blogspot.com/2012/05/lapollonide-house-of-pleasures-2011.html
Sudipto Basu
16Nov12
This is like Cassavetes directing faces in a Kubrick production of Barry-Lyndon-meets-Eyes-Wide-Shut. To be fair though, Bonello exceeds influence and clearly enters a world of his own.
Fernando Nikolić and 5 others like this
Alcock Hitchfred, Commie Bee, Maria Tavares, Jimmy B., KarstenM
D!LO
18Oct12
BAD. i guess Bonello had the hots for Heath Ledger as the joker, so decided to make this "thing" to introduce a female version. but to its credit, it could be visually stunning at some points, though nothing we haven't seen before. i felt like i wasted some precious time on this "movie".
Sophie Yoneoka likes this
La Schiff
9Oct12
Quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. Was there a purpose other than the director living out his perverted fantasies? It goes on and on and on. Almost thought there was a glimmer of substance in the Nights in White Satin scene but then I just realized that I love the Moody Blues and the characters with no substance continued to "act" and the director continued to "direct".
Ouibonjour likes this
Ouibonjour likes this
T. J. Harman
23Aug12
Without taking a narrative position and showing instead of telling, this film says everything there is to say about prostitution. There's something here for everyone from the libertarian to the moral feminist. The atmosphere is like a mix of Breillat w/ certain Altman & Visconti. Great music choices. Great film.
hastapura likes this
Harry Rossi
13Aug12
Very beautifully shot and acted. Loved the sense of mood and atmosphere and the slightly surrealistic moments. I was definitely intrigued by this film the entire time. Gonna have to think about this one a lot. Loved the ending. Overall, a beautiful experience.
Frankly, Mr. Shankly
21May12
between hope and, even more, the lack of it, the cumplicity of those girls is what i've found most touching. when the camera, accurate, rested on their faces, i felt like contemplating a work of art such the melancholy and the contrast between beauty and ugliness. a remarkable, sad, beautiful and current film. flawless work of Bonello.
Andrei Rus likes this
Seen Said
4May12
Mostly style and very little substance, its greatest strength lying within the constant mood of despair it creates and hides in plain sight. An interesting portrait, but of characters with very little depth. The diegetic contemporary music choices and the sudden flash-forward ending do nothing but, oddly enough, limit the film's historical reach.
La Schiff and uzaigaijin like this
Joshuah
27Apr12
am I the only one who feels those bluesy song choices were grating to the film? as if the characters were actually listening to it when the movie takes place in 1900. it makes the scenes feel a little cheesey. I guess Bonello didn't want classical throughout the entire film. perhaps with the film's ending suggests the prostitution theme is much more timeless? and maybe the song's work. despite that, it's perfect.
Caryophallus and Gabriel like this
DOUGLAS REESE
26Apr12
A motion picture experience so divine and pulsating with such intense rhythm, that its difficult not to just be swallowed up in its world. What at first feels so plastic ultimately reveals that, within that exterior, there is a tonally mesmerizing atmosphere that reeks of twisted, black-hearted fantasy. Bonello is definitely one to watch out for.
