Bordello - Movie Review

 

 

"Bordello"

Movie Review

 

'Bordello,' directed by Carlo Liconti and written by Daniel Matmor, stars Kris Holden. Set in New Mexico in 1889, Ried as Enoch runs a bordello with his five girls Esi, Tara, Ada, Precious, and Martha. There is one other girl who lives there, Angel, played by Brooklyn Popp, who is seven years old and has been looked after by them since her mother died. 

 

It's 1889 in New Mexico. The gold rush has ended, and most prospectors have moved on. A crumbling Antebellum mansion in the middle of nowhere is a bordello that has seen better days. Enoch, the inept pimp, owes the town's psychopathic Sheriff a large sum of money. Money is scarce, business is sluggish, and the five women in the house are tearing each other apart. The only thing they can agree on is Angel, a seven-year-old child whose mother died during childbirth.

 

Despite his difficulties, Enoch has big dreams. He believes there is gold in his backyard and, when he is not reading books about Alaska, he spends his time digging and fantasizing about a better life there. When Madame Gabi, a wealthy but evil brothel proprietress, pays him a visit, his past creeps up on him. She offers Enoch a small fortune for Angel, but despite his refusal, the women believe he has agreed to sell the child. Their fears are verified when Enoch declares that they will all be moving to Alaska and that their money issues are resolved. He does not, however, inform them of his discovery of gold. Unaware of the reality, the ladies plan to kill Enoch so they can escape and save Angel from a life of child prostitution. When the psychotic Sheriff arrives demanding his money, miscommunications, gunplay, and a heroic conclusion result.

 

Bordello begins with a sense of contained despair from director Carlo Liconti and writer Daniel Matmor. Bordello works best when it focuses on the interactions between the main characters. Despite being a western, or at least set in the old west, it is primarily a drama, and a good one. There's some levity sprinkled throughout, such as one of the girls' surprise at discovering that a Jewish customer doesn't have a tail. It's amusing as well as a timely reminder of how outrageous something can be and still be believed.

 

While it does tie up the film's various plot strands and provide the majority of the action, Bordello's ending feels a little rushed. It would have been more satisfying to let it play out over a few minutes. As it stands, it feels abrupt, as if they suddenly ran out of money or time and had to do a shortened version.

 

The cast does an excellent job of fleshing out the characters, with Heidi von Palleske particularly standout as Ada, the oldest of the bordello's working girls and a mother figure to some of them. As the trigger-happy sheriff, Frank Zupancic is coldly menacing; he makes a good antagonist, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of him.

 

The sets appear more aged and worn than the typical old-west tourist traps used in low-budget horse operas. Ludek Bogner's cinematography makes good use of the sets and gives them a convincingly naturalistic look. As previously stated, there isn't much action, and the effects are limited to a few brief CGI bullet hits. Bordello should satisfy viewers looking for something different as long as they keep in mind that this is a western drama, not a shoot ‘em-up.

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