FAT GIRL
Released: March 7, 2001
Catherine Breillat's first movie "Romance" (1999) became known for its nearly hardcore sex scenes. Now with her second film "Fat Girl", she is still pushing the limits with filmed sex but is not nearly content to stop there. Anaïs (Anaïs Reboux) is the overweight 12-year old sister of beautiful, svelte Elena (Roxane Mesquida). At age 15, Elena is blossoming sexually, and her fantasies are of losing her virginity to a man she loves. Anaïs, on the other hand, believes it is best to have a first sexual experience with someone when love is not involved - that way, there's no possibility of disillusionment. While this alone could have been enough to explore and perhaps create a provocative film about subject matter that doesn't get respectable screen time, Breillat flushes her movie down the toilet with a totally out-of-the-blue ending. The talky intial 98% of the movie is shattered with a scene that is needless as it is needlessly brutally gorey. Such a thought provoking idea for a film, ruined with a gratuitus roadside serial killing and rape. Fans of serial killer rape movies might like this but then they'd have to sift through the first 80 minutes of talky bits about girls contemplating losing their virginities. This film was actually banned in my Canadian province of Ontario, though I'm not sure if it was because of a) underage sex scenes, b) the brutal killings or c) the overall badness...
93 Minutes
Le Studio Canal+/Liona Gate Films