Maison close

The French TV series "Maison Close" is set in a Paris brothel ("Le Paradis") just after the end of the Franco-Prussian War (i.e., apparently in the last half of 1871). The two key themes are the quest of a new (and mostly unwilling) young arrival there to learn the fate of her mother -- who'd once also worked as a prostitute at the Paradis -- and the simultaneous efforts of the brothel's madam to purchase the operation from her scheming brother, who's the behind-the-scenes owner.

The acting is good, and the sets and camera-work effectively display the grim living conditions of the girls (that is, their cramped common sleeping quarters, as compared to the opulent rooms where they "entertain" the guests), but the pace of many episodes can, frankly, drag and get very "talky" and soap-opera-like.

One final observation: there's NOT a lot of nudity in the series (first season, anyway): did hookers in 1870s Paris REALLY mainly have sex clothed (not even topless, mostly), just accommodating the client doggie-style on the bed (dress still on) or "cowgirl" on top, again with very little flesh showing? That's sure not how it's traditionally depicted in other modern films!

I enjoyed Maison close as an extended glimpse into a Paris brothel. Having never set foot in anything remotely resembling a brothel, I felt that I learned something about the subculture of the world's oldest profession by watching both seasons of this series. The house itself reminded me of a hotel in Amiens right next to the cathedral where I once stayed. Now I am wondering whether it might have been a maison close at some point in the past... Same velvety decorations, etc...

For television, Maison close is quite good, and I enjoyed many aspects of the production. As a francophile, I was of course happy with the French, but the costumes and many twisting and turning subplots were interesting as well. One oddity was the use of more modern rather than period music, which was initially off-putting to me and did cause me to think about it during the episodes themselves, so something of a distraction.

It's well made, with good acting.

But it seems to go out of it's way to be mean spirited.

I only watched the first episode, but don't wish to continue after the numerous misfortunes that occur in under an hour.

Certainly we don't expect this world to be unicorns and rainbows, but there is a trend in episodic content these days to sway continuously dark without hope. And any illusions of hope are too frequently ripped away in tragedy. This is just another in a progressively lengthening list of content trending in this direction. At some point people will get fed up if we're saturated with this type of content.

Just came across the series by chance. And was happily surprised with it. In French with subtitles so have had to concentrate more than I usually do. Based in a Frech brothel it makes an interesting concept. The story starts off slowly as all the characters are introduced, but it catches on some pace in the last two episodes hence don't give up watching once you start it. The direction is pretty good and subtle which has allowed the story to be told without too much interference. The editing could have been better and the series been a bot shorter for what it was trying to portray, may have had many reasons for the number of episodes they finally come up with. The acting is quite intense and very good, overall a very character based series hence this was the key. Hence the casting crew has to be commended. Overall a good series to watch but not spectacular.

More than ten years late to the party, but here are my thoughts: the acting is great - and not just from the top billed actresses either (keep an special eye on Maud Wyler, who plays Paul's wife), the writing is fantastic, there's interesting incorporation of modern music, and the lighting department knocked it out of the park. There are so many shots that look like they were taken from a Rembrandt painting. Do yourself a favour and watch this underrated show.