FRENCH BROTHEL KEEPER STORY TOLD

PAID SEX IN THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION JUST NOT THE SAME BUSINESS ANYMORE

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

Director Sylvie Verheyde puts a spin on infamous brothel keeper Ferande Grudet, aka Madame Claude.

Grudet managed a ring of 200 high class call girls for dignitaries, civil servants and the Mafia in the posh, high society district of Paris.

Karole Rocher plays Madame Claude as she recruits and manages the girls for a 30 per cent commission.

The film’s runtime of 112 minutes covers the years of sexual liberation not just in Paris but around the world during the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Rocher was also cast by Verheyde in a film about a high class London call girl, Sex Doll (2016), starring Hafsia Herzi as Virginie.

Garance Marillier plays Madame Claude’s protégé, Sidonie. And Roschdy Zem plays the muscle behind the brothel, Jo Attia

Verheyde uses a linear narrative focusing on the business of brothel keeping while compelling the narrative forward with the real life scandals in which Madame Claude found herself and her girls.

The Netflix original films captures the atmosphere of the era, with some challenging cinematography as the narrative shifts to several nightclub scenes. 

Verheyde captures the same tone as films made in the era, such as Bullitt (1968) and The French Connection (1971), with almost a documentary approach synching with dramatized realism.

Of course, Madame Claude would not be a French film about a call girl ring without several sex scenes, and an honest transparency in regard to the female body and the interest in sex generally.

Verheyde does not pretend to hide what Grudet was all about by embarking on a glamourous retelling of her life. But instead, the director makes very clear that Madame Claude was a business woman selling sex.

The sex scenes are filmed as artfully as the rest of the movie without attracting the label of ‘gratuitous sex and violence’ and ‘soft porn.’ Still, though, viewers should beware.

Rocher shows that Madame Claude was honest and upfront with her girls, including the girls sent on dates where paid violence was anticipated. What was important was that the women would recover from minor injuries, while everyone was paid well for the service.

Madame Claude is a French film with French actors set in Paris, and so the film has that slow unwinding story telling in the European tradition of film.

Verheyde uses a voice over, involving Rocher telling personal details that unfold the scenes more quickly.

The film is very focused on the issues that compelled Madame Claude, such as making money and being seen among the elite social class and becoming more and more influential in the really important power circles of Parisian society.

The girls were individually dispensable because she had 199 more, just as pretty, waiting in line for work. So if a girl wanted to leave, or gave her a bit of trouble, Claude just asked them to leave, like right away.

The success of the call girl ring working inside the inner circles of Paris eventually was Madame Claude’s undoing, becoming too close to the political intrigues and organized crime elements that eventually brought the law to her house.

Verheyde uses interesting camera work throughout the film, while showing off the Parisian architecture and holding that tone of the era.

Madame Claude is currently streaming on Netflix.