What an unpleasant film this turned out to be. To start with, I hate the (ok, English) title in light of the film not exploring the issues around body image for a young woman in any meaningful way, and I hate the stereotype of the titular character regularly stuffing her face with food. All of the other family members are so cruel to this poor girl, but she's mostly in the background, which is kind of a shame. I wish it had more scenes like the one of her in the pool, going between one imaginary lover and another.

The story instead revolves around her sister (age 15) being taken advantage of by a college boy she meets on vacation, starting with being manipulated into anal sex with her little sister in the room. I wish I could say that's the worst moment the film gives us, but it's not. I liked how it showed the young girl's perspective as she struggles to say no but at the same time, feels like doing so will make her lose him, but this scene (and others) were unnecessarily excessive, and went on far longer than necessary. There's simply not enough intelligence or nuance here. There's an obvious parallel between what happens at the end and how the boyfriend behaved, but good lord, it has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It's also criminal that Breillat chose to cast an actual 13-year-old for the part. And in an extra bit of sickness, do we see a glimmer in the character actually having gotten what she wanted? For a film that seems to have feminist intentions, it's not particularly kind to women, which is a shame.

Catherine Breillat, the director of this film, knows how to provoke an audience with her risky themes. "A ma soeur" is a more disturbing film than the other director's movies, which we have enjoyed. Miss Breillat presents us an overweight teen ager who shows signs of low self esteem. To make matters worse, her sister, who is an attractive and slim girl, shows a cruel strain toward her sibling.

We find the two sisters during a summer vacation. The two girls are so different that logically, we feel bad for the poor fat sister, who obviously, is at a disadvantage. The pretty sister has no problems attracting boys; she has no problems taking the one she likes to bed, while her sister listens to all what's going on in the room. This is cruelty beyond imagination.

Miss Breillat shows courage in presenting this thorny account about sexual awakening. The only thing that feels out of place is the long sequence at the end of the film, which comes out of nowhere and leaves the audience stunned, as proved by the people that flocked to read the review posted on the lobby of the Lincoln Plaza cinemas, as many viewers obviously had trouble understanding the film.

Those last minutes of the film seem endless and proved nothing more than perhaps a director who ran out of ideas and didn't know where to take the story, therefore the ending that will disappoint even those avid Breillat's fans.

I so much wanted to like this film. From what the DVD box said, it seemed like a great idea for a movie--the troubles a fat girl goes through when she has an older, very attractive sister who seemingly "has it all". However, that was not the message I took from the movie. It was more along the lines of "life stinks--then you get raped or die". Oh I hated this movie and I have contempt for those who created it.

So why did I hate it other that the fact that the theme really was not what I had expected? First, the movie is VERY sexually graphic and the nudity portrayed involved girls who appeared between the ages of 12 and 15 or so. Because of this, I doubt it would even be legal to make this film in many countries--especially when the 12 year-old is raped on film! I am truly worried that a pedophile might become very aroused watching the movie.

Second, the exact purpose and theme of the movie is completely ambiguous. Every time I thought the movie was trying to make a point, the plot completely changed directions and the meaning was obscured. I know for those "in the know", the point of such films IS the pointlessness. Okay, fine, I get it....but so what?!

Third, the ending was sick and meaningless and seemed 100% random. COMPLETELY out of the blue, the mother and older daughter are brutally murdered on camera while they are resting in their car at a rest stop (the older daughter having her head bashed in with a hatchet and the mother was strangled). THEN, the 12 year-old is graphically raped on camera as well. It was like watching a "snuff film" and I cannot recommend this film to anyone.

It was even more disturbing when I read the notes inside the Criterion DVD case. Apparently the young girl who played the "Fat Girl" (Anaïs Reboux) was not told that was going to be the international title for the film (in France it was titled "À ma soeur!"). That, combined with the rape scene--I'd hate to have to pay that girl's therapy bills when she gets older!

The only reason the film gets a 2 was because the film was TECHNICALLY well-made. While a technically horrible film like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE or THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN are clearly scored a 1 on the IMDb, I would MUCH rather view them. Although these two films are a mess and the acting is poor, at least they weren't patently offensive or exploitative or make me feel dirty for having watched them. Do NOT watch this film and do not believe any of the positive hype you've heard about the movie.