Meet the Fokkens

Louise and Martine Fokkens are 69-year-old identical twins, working residents of Amsterdam's notorious Red Light District for the past 50 years. Today Louise is retired (citing arthritis: "I couldn't get one leg over the other"), but Martine still works in the window. Dressed in what can only be described as a dominatrix outfit that borders on endearing, she seems to have no dearth of customers. Brash, funny, racy stories punctuate their conversations: one laughs at the naiveté of young prostitutes who are ignorant of the secrets of the trade the other recalls a client who was a chaplain: "Don't you remember, we even had a little confessional!" The sisters also have scary stories to tell, but in the main they recall their clients with compassion and affection. The Fokkens are a wonderfully amusing cultural mix: one part beloved grandma, one part Xaviera Hollander, times two.