Fat Girl (2001)

Country: France
Director: Catherine Breillat
Screenwriter: Catherine Breillat
Stars: Anais Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero De Rienzo, Arsinee Khanjian

It's a sad fact that there are so few women directors working in film today, making an impact with work that gets serious attention. French filmmaker Catherine Breillat is one of those women, and for that you should be glad. But when it comes to enjoying her movies, get ready to alter your definition of that word. You don't enjoy Breillat. You endure Breillat.

Her film Fat Girl, about two sisters first experimenting with sex, is an angry affair that complicates gender stereotyping and makes sexism horrible in the manner of a horror movie. From a distance. Within the grasp of the film, the viewer just feels gut-punched. To say anything else would spoil the the fun. —RS