We were pleasantly surprised last April when Bertrand Bonello’s new film House of Tolerance (L’Apollonide – Souvenirs de la maison close) was announced as part of the stacked Cannes Competition slate (We thought it’d perhaps be in Un Certain Regard after his Director’s Fortnight berth in 2008 with On War (De la guerre)). With a reputation as somewhat of an enfant terrible ever since his sophomore feature The Pornographer (Le pornographe) premiered at TIFF in 2001, Bonello was even mentioned – alongside names such as Gaspar Noé, Catherine Breillat, and Bruno Dumont – as a member of the ‘New French Extremity’ style of filmmakers by Artforum critic and TIFF programmer James Quandt.
This reputation is, in part, why House of Tolerance was such as a surprise when it was unveiled on the Croisette last May. Representing a monumental leap in poise and craft, it is also Bonello’s most subtle work in terms of provocation and shocking or subversive imagery. I met up with Mr. Bonello after his film’s North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, when we discussed his place in the New Extremity Movement, the mixed reception that his film has had with North American critics, and the research that went into the project, among other things. This Friday, the film hit limited screens in North America under the new title ‘House of Pleasures; be sure to check out the interview below.