L'Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close

For his fifth film, Bertrand Bonello ("Tiresia") depicts a highly cinematic and atmospheric look at the final days of a turn of the century brothel when much of the Parisian sex trade was confined to grand maisons, populated by elegant madams and vetted clientele (including French filmmakers Jacques Nolot ("Before I Forget") and Xavier Beauvois ("Of Gods and Men")). Within L'Apollonide's walls, Bonello tracks the lives of the Madam (Noémie Lvovsky) and close to a dozen girls among them: Madeline (Alice Barnole) who is horribly disfigured by a client and becomes known as "the woman who laughs," Clotilde (Céline Sallette) the veteran who longs to be a "respectable woman" and Pauline (Iliana Zabeth), the newcomer whose eyes are quickly opened to reality. Despite the fact that desire often mixes with danger and disease rears its ugly head, the film is filled with moments of intimacy and camaraderie amongst the girls. Using a bag of cinematic techniques which include split screen, time shifts and a modern soundtrack, Bonello has made a provocative and beautiful film on not only the world's oldest profession but also a commentary on history as remembered by art and literature.