The Movie
Titled A Ma Soeur! in France (translating as To My Sister) the movie took on a considerably blunter name in crossing the pond to America, becoming Fat Girl, which was, in fact, the director's intended title all along. The film itself is no less blunt, with one of the most disturbing endings in recent memory.

Anais (Anaïs Reboux) is the chubby 12-year-old sister of Elena (Roxane Mesquida), a sexy teen looking for a good time in their French vacation neighborhood. Elena is saddled with taking Anais along with her, which gives Elena the chance to abuse her sister, through her hurtful words and loose attitude. While Anais eats ice cream, Elena makes-out with Fernando, the Italian college student she just met. Though older, Elena is considerably less mature and less stable than Anais.

To Fernando, Elena is just another conquest, but Elena tries to convince herself it means something more, despite Anais' sage warnings to the contrary. In the end, the situation plays itself out in the girls' bedroom in some definitely cringe-worthy moments. Director Catherine Breillat (Romance) is no stranger to controversial sex scenes, but with this film, she does nothing even close to exploitive. All of the sex occurs either obscured or off-screen (though only slightly at one point.) Her style consists of plenty of long, lingering shots, which can be maddening at times, but they definitely make for an artistic look. As a result, the film feels much longer than it really is.

The movie almost has two halves, the first being the girls' time at the vacation house, and the second being everything else. I don't think I could describe what happens without ruining the rest of the movie for you. Suffice to say, a mix of Breillat's meandering camera and a plot heading towards an unknown destination, the end, which is loaded with tension, will surprise just about everyone who watches, despite it being foreshadowed throughout the film. The behavior of Elena and Anais' mother lacks motivation during the second half, but it really doesn't affect the movie.

In watching the movie, seeing the girls nude bothered me. Though Mesquida, the actress playing Elena, was 18 at the time of shooting, Reboux was just 13. Discovering that, what I saw was disturbing. But now I've read that Reboux' nudity is faked with an prothesis. That makes me feel a bit better about watching this movie, and makes it easier to lose yourself in the story.

The DVD
Criterion has released an unrated, and likely uncut Fat Girl on one dual-layer DVD, with a decent handful of bonus features. Packaged in the standard keepcase, the disc comes with an insert including an essay by film academic Ginette Vincendeau, an interview with Breillat, an explanation from Breillat as to the title change and chapter stops. The main menu is animated, with footage from the film, while the remaining full-screen menus are static.

The Quality
The anamorphic widescreen digitally restored transfer on this DVD, which comes director approved, looks amazing. The scenes in the woods around the Residence are the most obvious example, as the colors are crisp and the detail is high. You can practically see each branch on the fallen trees. There is some light grain and dirt, but nothing distracting, save for a hair at the top of the frame during a beach scene, as Anais squats in the sand. The skintones are dead on, despite the varied lighting.

The audio, offered in Dolby 5.1 and DTS, is effective, coming across strong in any driving scenes and at the beach. Some good panning and surround details make the soundtrack an enveloping experience. I didn't notice a large difference between the Dolby and DTS tracks, but the movie can be very lazy in terms of the audio at times, due to Breillat's style.

The Extras
A five-minute making-of documentary starts the bonus features, giving a look behind the camera. The compiled full-screen footage is paired with a French-language voiceover (with English subtitles), and focuses on the cast and crew, showing plenty of Breillat's unique (and somewhat disturbing) directing style. The interviews with Reboux gave an interesting view of the young actress.

Also included are two full-screen interviews with Catherine Breillat, one, a sit-down with Breillat, and one at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival. In the first 10-minute chat, Breillat goes into how the movie was made, her work with the actors and the film's alternate ending, which is included in a work-print format here. The second interview, checking in at 12 minutes, goes into real depth on Breillat's philosophy on filmmaking, sexuality and women. It's a very enlightening piece on a controversial director.

Also on the disc are two trailers, a U.S. version and a French version. Do not watch either before watching the film, as there are several spoilers, including the film's finale. For some reason, the U.S. trailer is in grainy, blurry letterbox widescreen, while the French one is in anamorphic widescreen, and looks great.

The Bottom Line
This is not an easy film for most to watch, for several reasons. Breillat's style, the subject matter and a devastating ending all make for a challenging hour and 22 minutes of movie watching. But make it through all that, and you are rewarded with a unique take on adolescent female sexuality that's more real than most of what passes for girls' coming-of-age drama. Criterion has done their best to make the most of the experience, adding intelligent and informative supplements that only add to the movie, instead of filling space. The audience looking to own this disc will be slim, thus making this a rental for most, but it's definitely worth looking at.

(Reviewer note: Upon receiving new information regarding certain aspects of this film, I have edited portions of this review. The general feel is the same, but details have been expanded upon.)

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.