What about it made you want to throw up? The scene at the end?
Well….as far as subject matter does…Fat Girl was NOTHING compared to come other French films. Ma Mere, The Piano Teacher, I Stand Alone are all examples of masterpieces that push the content envelope.
What about it made you want to throw up?
Was it the scene at the end that bothered you, or the graphic sex?
I think overall it is a very interesting film, and a very honest (in terms of sexuality) coming of age film. I enjoy that director’s films, but if this one bothered that that much…be careful before watching her others.
Yeah, I admit that I haven’t seen that many French films, although the shock factor thing reminds me of Cache. The part about wanting to throw up was just my physical reaction to the end (the sex thing doesn’t bother me that much). I get that this movie, among the others, “pushes the envelope,” but I’m not quite sure why. Or maybe what envelope it’s pushing. What was the point of putting that scene at the end? What is the director (I’m assuming she wrote the screenplay?) trying to tell us by ending the story of these two girls in that way?
i think the ending means this: the guy that had sex with the pretty girl did pretty much the same thing as that one guy that “raped” the fat girl, only they had different methods of getting there. one guy used charm and pretty much just pressured her into having sex with him and the other guy just went straight to the sex. essentially they were both raped. (hope that makes sense lol)
I guess that makes sense, and it’s strange because both girls insist they weren’t raped. I think I understand a little more now, thanks!
Jay that is a perfect explanation. thank you for the clarity.
Fat Girl was my first Catherine Breillat. I am surprised I ventured to see more. However,the plots to nearly all of her movies sounded interesting so I saw more. Unfortunately, Fat Girl is graphic, offensive, and has little to no redeeming value. I’m sorry, but I can’t seriously like this. I like Brief Crossing or A Very Young Girl better. A Very Young Girl has weird/offensive stuff in it too, but not to the point where the movie is unenjoyable. It’s just not that very recommendable.
Allison, I am to assume you didn’t see Anatony of Hell then?
I hear what you’re saying, Almodovar. Your description of Fat Girl sounds like the definition of pornography, which Fat Girl is not. Its is unapologetically frank. Yes, graphic. Yes, offensive, but is that not part of its virtue? Graphic and offensive, both in its frank depiction of despicable acts. Honest in its approach. Ms. Breillat is to be commended for, if nothing else, her fortitude in sinking her life’s energy into a deeply disturbing picture which illustrates with unflinching candor the horrors of not only a morbid sense of inadequacy and so diabolically narcissistic, but of a diseased patriarchal culture. So yeah, it’s gonna hurt. Moreover, it is my humble opinion, Breillat is by no means asking anyone to ‘like it’, but appreciate it at least. I recommend it to the few listeners out there at every opportunity.
I’m sort of wondering at this point if the viewer’s gender might influence how they feel about this movie. It definitely draws some pretty distinct lines between the male and female characters, and I find it especially interesting that it is directed by a woman. It makes me ask myself if I would think any differently of this film if I knew that a man directed it. I’m not sure.
im glad my explanation helped! :) i agree with u Ryan!
I sometimes have a hard time with movies that are described as “unapologetically frank” and “controversial” and that kind of thing because I feel that there is a fine line between being offensive to teach someone something they wouldn’t necessarily want to learn, or show them something they don’t want to see but still need to, and just trying to get a reaction. It’s kind of like the difference between someone speaking loudly to be sure you’ll hear and someone screaming incoherently in your face. I’m leaning towards the latter for this film.
Maybe it’s because I can’t relate but I’m pretty tired of films that show female sexual awakening as something really disturbing and tragic.
Ryan Biddle, am I wrong because I don’t enjoy movies where someone gets raped and enjoys it?
Dan, yes, Anatomy of Hell is the only Breillat movie I’ve avoided watching.
Oh no, no, please don’t misunderstand me, Allison. I have not said or implied that you are wrong. Please excuse me if that is what came across. So the answer to your question is, no, you are not wrong. We’re all friends in film, here. It’s a forum so I chipped in my two cents, but I by no means think you are wrong. Furthermore, I did not suggest or ask that you or anyone else ‘enjoy’ it. I’ve made it clear that there is nothing enjoyable about the actual act or the depiction thereof.
Yes, Miranda, I’m of the opinion that gender is most certainly intended or at least anticipated by the director, to play the primary role. That said, I’d like to include here that I have not discussed how I feel about this film, but rather what I think. Just throwing that out there. But, I’ll offer this much, Fat Girl made me feel like shit. It gave me that sunken stomach feeling, like the first time I watched Blue Velvet or Clockwork. I had to ask myself, ‘Why would anyone want to make this film?’, ‘How is this not dismissed as perverse and gratuitous?’, ‘How does this compare to my own experience?’. I was profoundly challenged by this film. This is why I’m so interested in Breillat’s work, why I put her on my list of favorite auteurs. I’d like to add that if a male had directed this film, I almost certainly would have regarded it as pandering and perverse or at least suspicious. Miranda, thank you for intiating this topic. I really don’t have anyone else with whom I can seriously discuss this film or this director, as no one I know personally will touch her work.
I also, think that ‘to teach’ is not on the directors agenda, but to illustrate, to show.
Bazhlekova, what other films depict female sexual awakening as really distubing and tragic, I’m interested, as none are coming to mind.
I think I just chose the wrong word there. By “teach” I really meant to tell someone a story of sorts and let them take from it what they will. I guess I meant that I don’t want someone just “showing” me anything, I want something that will be of some value to me.
And thanks a lot for the input, everyone, this has been really helpful!
HOw can i watch this movie, or others? in this site?! Maybe I am off topic, but please! bye!
Salvo Giuffrida, Fat Girl is available to watch on this web site under Library, its among some other films, they added some more I think yesterday. I have to admit that the ending for the film really shocked me, I felt pretty sick after it. I really enjoyed the film though. I am very interested in seeing some of the directors other films…could someone recomend me her best?
Yes, Fat Girl is available on The Auteurs, and I recommend that everybody who hasn’t seen it should do so as soon as possible. It’s quite good, though it seems I’m in the minority there.
Maybe it’s because I live in America, and, more specifically, Pennsylvania. You could hardly find a more sexually squeamish place on Earth. Watching Catherine Breillat deal with sexuality so impartially and so in depth was really fascinating to me. And I mean that in the least creepy way possible, I should add. Sexuality isn’t something to be afraid of in general (though everybody I know here would beg to differ), but Fat Girl illustrates a case where sexuality can be misused and abused. You can sense the sexual tension between the two main characters. The girl is lustful but prudent for the most part, whereas the guy is lustful and forceful in the way he expresses it. The girl’s sexual curiosity ultimately leads to her being sexually taken advantage of by the guy. Of course, it’s all consensual; he never outright rapes her. But he coaxed her into it and tricked her into it by convincing her that he loved her, which opened her up to him. I like Jay’s explanation of it, because that is a very succinct way of putting the film. The criminal at the end commits obvious rape, but the guy is much more subtle and conniving. He forces her into it, but in a way that gives her the illusion of free will, which is equally despicable. However, the film’s not without its flaws. The guy seems a little too obvious to me, but maybe it’s because I’m a guy and I can just tell when a fellow male is trying to talk a girl into sex. But still, it seems like a red flag should have went off sooner than it did. As soon as the two were lying in bed and he wouldn’t let her wait to consent, I picked up on his scheme, and I’m surprised she didn’t as well. From there on out, he just kept pushing the subject and wouldn’t let it go, which I thought was a tad unrealistic. And the ending, despite its thematic resonance, kind of comes out of nowhere. I like it, actually, but it could have been handled better. The film is pretty impressively realistic, but that scene breaks my suspension of disbelief a fair bit. It is meant to be a metaphor, but it could have been a little less obvious about it. Regardless, I quite enjoyed this film and its themes, and I think Catherine Breillat is doing a good service for the world by exploring a topic most people are too squeamish to think about, much less discuss. She’s one of my favorite female directors (which, I guess, isn’t saying much.), and I’ll be reasonably sad when she gets too old/sickly to direct new films.
I haven’t seen the film in awhile but I recall that my understanding of the last scene was that the fat girl was perversely proud to have been the one the rapist chose to rape and let survive. It was a graphic, perverse illustration of how wanting to be the winner in the game of sexual selection turns everyone into a monster. In the poor fat girl’s mind being rejected was tantamount to being killed and being raped was a form of acceptance. In a world or psyche overly determined by physical desirability, to be fat (shorthand here for undesirable) is to be dead, invisible. To be wanted—even by a rapist—is to be a winner, to be loved (and to be alive). I don’t think Breillat is taking the extreme position some feminists have taken that all sexual intercourse is a form of rape, but she seems to be saying that sexual selection is akin to rape, especially when it is so driven by fetishes and consumerism (like what a desirable body is) instead of being driven by things like curiosity, respect for the community at large, in helping each other find happiness too, etc. In other words, our free will to compete for the most desirable of mates has turned us into monsters. Our sexuality has turned us into monsters who only care about not being old maids or elderly bachelors, with little regard for our brothers and sisters or neighbor’s happiness.
I thought it was great. An insightful look at the relationship between the sisters. A wise look at sexual discovery. A shocking ending.
This movie surprised me, I enjoyed it. Not one of my favorite films, but I thought it had a pretty good message.
What was said about both girls essentially being raped but in different ways is very intelligent.
This movie surprised me, I enjoyed it. Not one of my favorite films, but I thought it had a pretty good message.
What was said about both girls essentially being raped but in different ways is very intelligent.
I’m not sure I’ll watch it again anytime soon, but I liked it. I thought the portrayal of the two sisters was interesting and honest, however frightening or disgusting. Regarding the ending, I didn’t mind it. Though a bit surprising, I liked how Breillat showed the girls’ sexuality, distinguishing the grey area that I’m sure a lot of people find offensive, though fitting to the characters. I feel like CB made an interesting observation which frequently doesn’t happen nowadays.
What about the mother weaving around all of those semis? Can anyone make sense of that bit? I have a couple ideas, but I’d like to hear others.
I’m not sure about the meaning in reference to the story, but that part definitely built up the suspense in anticipation of the ending. I just knew something bad was about to happen, and I kept thinking that would get plowed into by a truck or something. It’s kind of funny because she really got me right when I finally started to relax a little.
You certainly better avoid Baise Moi.
I like her films a lot. They are, by and large, extremely challenging and disturbing. And Fat Girl is indeed horrific, perhaps more so than any of her other films. But if Breillat keeps making them, I’ll keep watching.
Miranda Patton
I try very hard to keep an open mind about movies, but I don’t get this one at all. I can’t seem to find anything of value in it except that it came the closest of any movie I’ve ever seen to making me throw up. Can someone enlighten me on what I was supposed to get out of this?