Directed by Małgorzata Szumowska • Drama • With Juliette Binoche, Anaïs Demoustier, Joanna Kulig • 2011 • 99 minutes
A provocative and raw exploration of female sexuality, director Malgoska Szumowska's ELLES paints an unromantic picture of upper-crust domesticity refracted through the vibrant eroticism of prostitution.
Vacillating between opposing worlds defined alternatively by sexual freedom and constraint, ELLES stars the fearless Juliette Binoche (Chocolat) as Anne, a well-off Parisian journalist investigating the lives of two student prostitutes (Joanna Kulig and Anaïs Demoustier) for a magazine article. What begins as a routine assignment shaped by preconceived notions quickly turns personal, as Anne is drawn into the lives of these fiercely independent young women and forced to confront her own sexual fears and desires.
A bold examination of poverty and privilege, age and youth, ELLES draws into question the loneliness, sterility, and isolation that plague marital life and stifle sensuality.
Up Next in Sex Work, Exploitation, Survival
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Delphine's Prayers
Directed by Rosine Mbakam • Documentary • 2021 • 91 minutes
Delphine reclines on a daybed in her bright, cluttered apartment in Belgium, an empty crib beside her. “I started to work the streets like crazy,” she says, matter-of-factly recounting her life story. “Selling my body.” Delphine, who is...
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Karayuki-San, The Making of a Prostitute
Directed by Shohei Imamura • Documentary • 1975 • 75 minutes
From the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, Japanese girls and women were trafficked out of Japan and sent to foreign countries like China, Singapore, and beyond to serve as indentured prostitutes. These women were called Karayuki-san.
Shoh...
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Special Treatment
Directed by Jeanne Labrune • Drama • With Isabelle Huppert, Bouli Lanners, Richard Debusne, Sabla Moussadek, Valerie Dreville • 2010 • 95 minutes
In this darkly erotic drama from cult filmmaker Jeanne Labrune, Isabelle Huppert (8 Women, Merci Pour le Chocolat, La Cérémonie, The Piano Teacher, La...
