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In France, the brothel was an institution. Both a place of initiation, fantasies, perversions, it also was used as a meeting place for politicians and businessmen. Brothels, tolerated and monitored by the State, prospered from the early 19th century until they were closed down in 1946. The more luxurious brothels attracted famous writers and artists, politicians and industrialists, while the hoi polloi had to fall back on the sinister knocking-shops. Apart from a certain nostalgia, this film reveals a very complex world. Using archival footage and interviews, this documentary is a history of these divine yet infernal "houses of illusions."

France - 2003 - 52 mn - Betacam SP - Colour

Director Mark Kidel Script Mark Kidel Camera Mark Kidel Sound Mark Kidel Editing Andrew Findlay Music Daniel Mille

Production On Line Productions, 33, avenue Mac-Mahon, 75017 Paris, France Tél : +33 (0)1 5381 8181 Fax : +33 (0)1 5381 8182 E-mail : metropolis@onlineproductions.fr Co-Production Calliope Media

Sales Arte France Développement, 8, rue Marceau, 92785 Issy-les-Moulineaux Cedex 9, France Tél : +33 (0)1 5500 7777 Fax : +33 (0)1 5500 7395 E-mail : infosales@artefrance.fr