I forgot to mention this afternoon: please don't forget to read, for Tuesday's class, Chapter Eight in Barsam, "Thinking About Movies, Theory, and Meaning," which will help with your upcoming essay. Okay, post away.
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I'd like to start off by saying there are many long, elegant phrases I could use to describe this movie, but the one that I think suits it best is "fucked up". That was the most odd movie I have ever seen.
Anyway, the shot that really jumped out at me from this movie was the first shot we see of the beach. We see Anais standing amongst small patches of grass. It is a long shot and she doesn't take up much of the frame. Alot of the shot is taken up by scenery and the large lighthouse in the background. The shot really just exemplifies her loneliness and truly shows how no one understands her.
There were many shots like this, (ex. the one of her laying on the beach) but this one seemed to really signify her insignificance as well, being next to the lighthouse.
First of all.
So completely disturbing. I don't think I could articulate how disgusted I felt after seeing this film.
The shot that I'll write about was from earlier in Fat Girl, before all the sex/rape/murder scenes, when I had a different understanding of what the film was trying to portray.
When Elena and Fernando are lying in her bed for the first time there is a very long fluid medium shot panning back and forth over them slowly as they talk about their relationship, sex and the girls that came before her. It was a very romantic and intimate shot. Despite the graphic nature of scenes to come they seem fairly innocent as a couple, especially Elena. I enjoyed this shot; the lighting, their dialogue, their body positioning. Overall it just seemed peaceful and made sense to me, unlike the majority of the film.
One shot that moved me was when Fat Girl was crying on her bed and in the background on the top right of the frame you can see her sister having sex with Fernando. This shot brought many questions running thru my head. Mainly, why is Fat Girl crying? It is evident that her crying has to do with her sister having sex for the mere fact that it is specifically in that background of the shot of her crying. But what specifically would make her cry? Is it because she knows what her sister is to gullible to realize? That Fernando is all talk and only wants to get in her pants? Or is it because she is sad that it isn't her that is losing her virginity, but her sister? Is she jealous of her sister because she is thinner and better looking then she is, and she secretly wishes she was the one that was desired by a male? (This logic can trace back to the scene in the pool when Fat Girl is swimming back and forth between the wooden deck and the pool latter pretending they are men that both desire her.) Or is she crying because she wants to be in her own room by herself and sleep in peace?
I really have no idea why she was crying, and I never did figure it out. It may not even be one of the above reasons, but nonetheless, it got me thinking!
Moved is not the word for the emotional effect this film had on me. I was not moved by this film, I was REPULSED by it. I am not a prude. I am not offended by sex. But this movie was not about sex; it was about rape.
Worse, it was about the sexualization of rape. It was about trying to take the experiences of rape victims and compare them to make statutory rape seem 'less criminal' than violent stranger-rape.
Elena is the Lolita fantasy; sexually precocious enough to absolve her predator of his sense of responsibility, yet still malleable and ignorant enough to be completely within his control. There is no doubt in the audience's mind that she is not forming the sort of informed consent we would expect as a legal or moral standard. Yet when she is 'caught', the adults who should have protected her have a completely demented reaction. Although it is obvious that she has been taken advantage of sexually, they threaten her with 'examination'. There is only the barest hint that there is any punishment waiting for him, and that only if an outside authority can confirm her story.
After the harrowing final scenes of the movie, after the nausea had mostly passed and once I finished bawling in the washroom, I asked myself what the point of the film had been. What was the message? What was the purpose?
I cannot state emphatically enough how much the final scene offended me. I feel that it was presented as a counterpoint to the earlier conversations the sisters had about what they wanted for their 'first time'; Elena wanted someone special who loved her and Fat Girl wanted her first to be some nameless, faceless, generic guy. As she put her arms around her attacker the implication was that she was turning her sexual assault at the hands of the murderer of her mother and sister into her virginity-loss fantasy.
I am old enough to remember when every newspaper account of violent stranger-rape included a description of what the woman was wearing. I am old enough to remember "if something is inevitable, why not relax and enjoy it?". I am old enough remember when it was generally accepted that most men would reach a point after which they could not be expected to control their impulses, and that rape was the result of teasing gone wrong. This movie is two decades too late to be even remotely excusable.
Movies like Last Exit to Brooklyn, Leaving Las Vegas, The Accused - these movies helped change the way the general public viewed rape by presenting rape and its consequences honestly. Fat Girl reverts to an irresponsible sexualized fantasy that risks titillating the tiny minority of people who need to buy into that fnatasy.
I am deeply sorry, but i cannot in good conscious say anything about this film. I would be going against my morals if i said that i liked any shot that this film has.
the prof. said at the beginning of the class "it all depends on what you call pornography"
well sir you are right, rape is not pornography, child abuse is not pornography and sexual assault it not pornography. It is wrong.
The only shots in Catherine Breillat's "Fat Girl" that I liked is the opening shots of the sisters walking through the forest to their home. The beautiful scenery emphasizes the girls' loneliness and closeness to each other, if that makes sense. Despite the two not physically being close, I think they appear emotionally close, despite differences in their opinions of losing their virginity.
This is easily one of the most disturbing films I've ever seen. During the long walk from the class room to the gym, I felt dirty, violated (somehow), unclean, and overall repulsed. I only managed to stop thinking about the film when I started working out. Part of me does not even want to come to class Tuesday to discuss this film because it's so disturbing. That's enough ranting by me though, as I'm sure many others will denounce this film as well.
The shot I’m going to write about took place during when Fernando was able to have sex with Elena. The camera is placed to see Anais looking away from them crying. The audience can only see the legs of Fernando and Elena. As I said before, Anais is crying but I’m not convinced the reason why she was crying was solely because of her sister and Fernando were having sex in the same room that was she was trying to sleep in (although I wouldn’t doubt that would be part of it). I think she felt angry and sad for her sister and knew she was being taken advantage of. But I’m not completely convinced that’s the entire reason strictly because the girls in the film are naive.
It is fairly hard to pick a shot that I enjoyed the most considering the fact that I was uncomfortable throughout the movie and couldn’t concentrate as I generally do. But the truth remains quite obvious, movie contains a lot of stuff that can be repulsed and averted. Nonetheless, the same stuff also provokes a lot of reasoning and requires a thorough analysis. Although the movie may be rejected by many individual from the standards of morality and legitimacy, the movie still exhibits the facets of art.
I want to talk about a particular shot that involves anais. This shot is singular for various reasons. In this shot, we see anais reclined on her bed constantly crying while her sister Elena is having sex with Fernando. Anais is facing camera in the foreground close to the bottom-left side of the frame. In the background we can see the legs of Elena and Fernando moving in the top-right side of the frame. If we divide the screen vertically, the shot captures upper-half of Anais’ body in the left-half of the frame, while the right-half of the frame contains the legs of Elena and Fernando. The shot is taken in the sisters’ bedroom, where Anais is reclining on her bed in the bottom-left corner of the room (also close to bottom-left side of the frame) and her sister’s bed is in the top-right corner of the room (also close to the top-right side of the frame). The movement of legs seem to complement the crying of Anais. In other words, as the movement of legs starts to slow down gradually, the crying steadily grows louder and frequent and we can also hear (a different kind of) cries of Elena and Fernando in the background. The beds of the sisters are not only located in the opposite sides, but are also situated in opposite corners. Compare to one of the first bedroom shots, when Fernando sneaks in the bedroom, there seems to be lot of light in the bedroom as if the shot was taken in day-light. As we move on to other shots taken in the bedroom, the effects of light reduce, and finally when we come to this shot I am talking about, the ambience has become quite blurry (as we can barely discern the legs of Elena and Fernando in the background) and the colors of the bedroom settings give us a feeling of a shot taken in a technicolor movie.
This shot is central to the movie and contains the core ideas that pervade the movie. The dissimilar cries of Anais and Elena symbolic of their physical and psychological state, the different situation of beds, the distinct overall setting of the bedroom, the sound effects, altogether, try to create an uneasiness in viewers’ mind (somewhat the way gothic novels do). As an overall interpretation, this shot conveys the basic ideas that pass through the whole movie. One idea is of female closeness as well rivalry (opposite locations of sisters’ beds, one sister is alone; the other is with a boy. Although sisters seem to have a close relationship, in this shot, they seem quite apart and distant both physically and psychologically). Second idea is of corruption, the physical corruption of Elena as she loses her virginity and the psychological corruption of young 12 old Anais as she witnesses the intercourse. Above all, according to my personal interpretation, this shot conveys a unique idea of “extremity of pain and pleasure” that is also reinforced throughout the movie (especially in the end). Elena’s physical pleasure while having sex becomes psychological pain for Anais. On the other extreme, Elena’s physical pain may give psychological pleasure to the sex-crazy viewer. This movie raises more questions that it answers. How can a normal person assess what contentment a rape-victim may get by being raped!! Similarly, how can a normal person estimate what pleasure a murderer or rapist may get from killing people or raping women!! More similarly, how can meat-eating human-beings reckon how much pain animals endure while getting killed??
It is fairly hard to pick a shot that I enjoyed the most considering the fact that I was uncomfortable throughout the movie and couldn’t concentrate as I generally do. But the truth remains quite obvious, movie contains a lot of stuff that can be repulsed and averted. Nonetheless, the same stuff also provokes a lot of reasoning and requires a thorough analysis. Although the movie may be rejected by many individual from the standards of morality and legitimacy, the movie still exhibits the facets of art.
I want to talk about a particular shot that involves anais. This shot is singular for various reasons. In this shot, we see anais reclined on her bed constantly crying while her sister Elena is having sex with Fernando. Anais is facing camera in the foreground close to the bottom-left side of the frame. In the background we can see the legs of Elena and Fernando moving in the top-right side of the frame. If we divide the screen vertically, the shot captures upper-half of Anais’ body in the left-half of the frame, while the right-half of the frame contains the legs of Elena and Fernando. The shot is taken in the sisters’ bedroom, where Anais is reclining on her bed in the bottom-left corner of the room (also close to bottom-left side of the frame) and her sister’s bed is in the top-right corner of the room (also close to the top-right side of the frame). The movement of legs seem to complement the crying of Anais. In other words, as the movement of legs starts to slow down gradually, the crying steadily grows louder and frequent and we can also hear (a different kind of) cries of Elena and Fernando in the background. The beds of the sisters are not only located in the opposite sides, but are also situated in opposite corners. Compare to one of the first bedroom shots, when Fernando sneaks in the bedroom, there seems to be lot of light in the bedroom as if the shot was taken in day-light. As we move on to other shots taken in the bedroom, the effects of light reduce, and finally when we come to this shot I am talking about, the ambience has become quite blurry (as we can barely discern the legs of Elena and Fernando in the background) and the colors of the bedroom settings give us a feeling of a shot taken in a technicolor movie.
This shot is central to the movie and contains the core ideas that pervade the movie. The dissimilar cries of Anais and Elena symbolic of their physical and psychological state, the different situation of beds, the distinct overall setting of the bedroom, the sound effects, altogether, try to create an uneasiness in viewers’ mind (somewhat the way gothic novels do). As an overall interpretation, this shot conveys the basic ideas that pass through the whole movie. One idea is of female closeness as well rivalry (opposite locations of sisters’ beds, one sister is alone; the other is with a boy. Although sisters seem to have a close relationship, in this shot, they seem quite apart and distant both physically and psychologically). Second idea is of corruption, the physical corruption of Elena as she loses her virginity and the psychological corruption of young 12 old Anais as she witnesses the intercourse. Above all, according to my personal interpretation, this shot conveys a unique idea of “extremity of pain and pleasure” that is also reinforced throughout the movie (especially in the end). Elena’s physical pleasure while having sex becomes psychological pain for Anais. On the other extreme, Elena’s physical pain may give psychological pleasure to the sex-crazy viewer. This movie raises more questions that it answers. How can a normal person assess what contentment a rape-victim may get by being raped!! Similarly, how can a normal person estimate what pleasure a murderer or rapist may get from killing people or raping women!! More similarly, how can meat-eating human-beings reckon how much pain animals endure while getting killed??
There was one shot that stood out for me in "Fat Girl." This was the shot of Anais getting her new dress hemmed at the store. In this shot, Anais and the seamstress are positioned on the left side of the screen. Anais' mother is positioned roughly in the middle, and Elena enters from the right of the screen. Anais and Elena’s mother physically splits the screen in two, emphasizing the differences between her two daughters. On the left is Anais in her frumpy, conservative, green dress which she tries to make more attractive by raising the hem above her knee. On the right enters the slim, beautiful Elena in her fitted, short red dress. The composition of this shot really emphasizes the struggle Anais faces. The audience empathizes with her in this shot, sensing her feelings of isolation and desperately wanting to fit in. Anais is an outcast in her family who no one seems to fully understand. In this shot, the entrance of Elena steals the focus from Anais. This demonstrates Elena’s ability to constantly overshadow her younger sister. I felt that this shot really exposed Anais’ insecurity and jealousy of her sister.
I can somewhat emphathize with how so many of you were so repulsed and offended by this film; yes, it is a devastating tale of underage rape and brutal murder. However, although I don't actually know of Breillat's intentions with this film, I really highly doubt that she endorses these tragedies within the scope of real life.
Portraying this "fucked up", (K.R.), "sexualization of rape" (L.M.), "wrong" and "pornographic" (S.D) film is surely NOT a matter of realism for Breillat, it is a matter of ART. Breillat is a novelist, a filmmaker, and an ARTIST obviously expressing some of the deepest pains within her own heart with "Fat Girl".
Personally, I am happy that I saw this film. I was really emotionally moved (deeply hurt) by its tragedies, and at the same time I also found it highly artistic and erotic - showcasing the darkest slices of humanity that exist within all of us on some level. And we can't deny that.
Regardless, this discussion is probably best saved for class (or not at all, since I'm not sure of the university's protocol on this type of discussion, and Jonah's a new professor at the university, etc.)
I'll move on to a my shot. First, a pre-text: after the girls go shopping, they walk in the woods with Fernando wiht their new duds. Of course, Elena bought a sexy red dress, and Anais' yellow-green atrocity is hemmed to an equally scanty length.
The shot that moved me was the one of Anais walking methodically in the field as Elena and Fernando's ball and chain. In the upper portion of the screen, a red tower dwarfs Anais as she walks amongst the landscape. This red tower is tall, thin and majestic just like her sister (in her new red dress) who towers over her in all aspects of life.
Red, of course, has so many passionate connotations: anger, aggression, sex, love and many more. Red is, really, the colour of colours, I would argue, representing all extremes. In this film, red is used very precisely (like when Elena applies a sultry red lipstick before Fernando's first secret, bedroom encounter).
The red tower shot is so significant to the entire film: Anais, clad in a dull yellow-green (yellow being the colour of cowardice, sunshine and gender/sexual neutrality and green being the colour of nature and envy), doesn't stand a chance next to her sister...
Wow.
I really enjoyed this movie, and am looking forward to watching more Breillat films. There were many shots that stood out to me.
One that I really liked was a long, eye level shot on the beach. She is standing there in her new dress, with such a sad expression on her face. The ocean crashed on the lest and to right is a large cylindrical lighthouse. This lighthouse is undoubtedly phallic imagery, and definitely serves a purpose as it cuts to the next shot. This next one is a long shot of the guy walking with his hand on the older sisters butt, and its no secret what they plan on doing.
Another shot that I thought was key in the theme of the movie is when Fernando and Elena are having sex the night that he gives her the ring. Earlier Anais had warned Elena that she didn't think she should have accepted and all that. When they are having sex you can see that big huge ring on her finger, and you realize how very much wise beyond her years Anais is.
As disturbing and shocking as I found this film to be, I enjoyed the fact that it stirred up enough emotion in me to keep me wondering long after the film was over. One of the shots that solidified the fact that Anais is deeply troubled is near the very end of the film, immediately after the murderer smashes the windshield and kills Elena and the mother.
Anais calmly steps out of the car, and slowly walks backwards as the murderer approaches her. We see the murderer from behind, facing Anais, which allows us to see the expression on Anais’ face. She appears to be completely fearless and indifferent after having witnessed her mother and sister being murdered. The fact that she reacts this way made me wonder what was really going on in her mind. Earlier on in the film, we see that Elena and Anais share a close bond, behind all of the bad attitudes and insults. They appeared to genuinely love and care about each other, but perhaps the jealousy and envy towards Elena was enough to overpower their love, which is why I found this particular shot of the murderer and Anais’ reaction to be so evoking.
AIso, I can’t help but wonder how Anais would deal with the reality of the murder after it finally sets in, and how she would feel after some time has passed.
The shot that stood out for me in this film was the shot of Fernando and Elena talking in bed. As Fernando blithely answers Elana's questions about his past relationships, the camera gently pans over to the left to capture Anais lying in her own bed in the background, with her back to the camera. At this point in the film the viewer would be caught up in Fernando’s and Elana's intimate conversation. I saw the subtle pan of the camera as a way of reminding the viewer of Anais's presence in the room, and in the narrative itself.
I can see that many people have said that this filmed bothered them. In a way i believe this was the goal of the director/writer. It is a film and that is how i looked at it. The only thing that i was bothered by was that Anais was not of legal age. The shot that i enjoyed the most was when Anais is crying at the breakfast table the day after watching Elena and her boyfriend...well ill just say, fool around. Elena goes up to Anais and tells her to eat, and that eating will makes her feel better. i found this almost humorous being that in most situations people would try and comfort their sibling rather then telling them to engage in a habit that is triggered by there emotions. I really thought this was a good film and i guess was not as effected from the shock factor that others were. Not to be lame but it's a form of art and is fictional. It is a shame that we are unable to watch a portrait of something that happens in reality.
Adam Sawyer
This was terrible. The whole movie was just them fucking, smoking, then an hour of excruciatingly tedious shots of them driving and then a godamn axe murderer. What the hell?
I could get over the depressing plot and the overall disgusting ending if there was actually some kind of message or reason, but this just seemed like a bunch of random terrible things that were thrown together for shock value. The whole thing seemed very disjointed to me.
As long as I'm shooting off my mouth, I might as well mention that my favorite shot was when they were on the beach and the younger sister was laying on the sand with the waves washing over her. The allusion to a beached whale, although cruel, is pretty obvious here, and I guess it functions as a way of showing the way she feels about herself.
There is one positive to all the nagatives in this movie, and that is that at least the class discussion will be interesting, and I'm looking forward to it--even though it means we'll have to see watch this garbage again.
The shot that stood out for me was the shot when Anais is alone on the beach while her sister is with Fernando. When Fernando and Elena come back they find her naked sitting in the beach with the green dress that she copied from her sister is laying besides her, no one says anything and just stare at each other.
It seems like Anais was the one that felt dirty and had the need to wash herself, while her older sister did all the "dirty" things.
The shot that I am going to talk about is the one where we see Anais walking through the grassy field, with the large lighthouse in the background. What I found interesting about this shot is that while Anais is in the center of the frame, she is very small and far away, and she is not necessarily the main focus of the shot. This helps to portray her situation of almost being unnoticed, just tagging along but never participating, never taking part in what is happening.
Although the movie's content was very disturbing, the movie is stylistically moving, I believe that since the content is so shocking that it was difficult for many people to enjoy the movie. The shots that stood out for me were the shots that were capable to make the viewer forget the morally ambiguous actions of the characters. An example would be when Anais is lying in the water and letting the waves wash over her, through the calming effect of the movement and sound of the waves the director almost makes me forget all terrible things that had just occurred.
Another scene that stood out for me was the shot of Anais applying sunscreen. This shot stood out because of the drastic contrast that is created by the director. The contrast is between the childlike innocence in applying way too much sunscreen compared to the overly sexualized child later on in the movie. This shot is one of the only innocent shots in the movie and almost makes you forget that she is desperately trying to lose her virginity,
One shot that I found interesting was one that was taken from the side mirrors of the semi trucks, when the girls and their mother were driving back home. Here you can see the mom switching in and out of lanes and from shots before you see that she is not the best driver. She was constantly switching lanes, at first she was going too fast then she wasn't driving fast enough. I figured that she was going to get into an accident and they would all be killed and if her driving didn't kill her something would. Sure enough the mother did die later on. I think that the mirror might have been the one of the trucker that later attacked the family. I also liked this shot because it put a frame within the frame and just focused on the girls in the car, almost to say that they are the most important throughout the next scenes.
Fat Girl (Á Ma Soeur!) By Catherine Breillat - Considering the facts that yes this was a “film” and yes in most cases the director might not be “condoning “ these acts, or advising people to pursue them. As most people have stated already I personally find this film completely repulsive, irresponsible and inconsiderate. Regardless of what this writer or director had in store/mind when making this film, these are the kinds of films that should be banned around the entire world. The Ontario film review board tried to prevent this movie’s release in their province at the start but due to the constitution they were not able to. To add a man was arrested for attempting to even bring this movie in to Canada on Monday July 28, 2003 by the CBSA previously the CCRA. This was because the film was considered “obscene” under the criminal code! It was also deemed to be “child pornography”. The only reason that this man was released was because of the small fact of the “artistic merit” they claimed the film obtained. (This was also changed in 2005 to a narrower defence of “legitimate purpose”). The issue of rape is not something I personally condone being put in a film where a young girl is clearly being shown unclear of distinguishing manipulation followed by rape as some form of love. I think that considering that rape is a real issue in life and that there are multiple issue revolving around sex as is in the world, a move such as this is not one to be made let alone watched, its right up there with child pornography (and partially is) and should not be condoned by anyone to be displayed let alone discussed. I’m in no way trying to offend our professor Jonah; this is just my opinion of the film. I understand that Catherine Breillat may have had her own “vision” or intent when making this film and may be well known for her controversial films I think this one just crossed the line a bit too far for me to state “a shot that moved me”.
The shot that caught my attention was the shot in the pool where Anais keeps going back and forth with the poles in the pool. She acts as if they were Anais' boyfriends. The poles represents men and she kisses and flirts with it.
It caught my attention because she keeps on singing a song that she wants to be loved by anything even by an animal. Instead of being a child playing with things, she dreamed about losing her virginity even with objects.
Over all I really felt numb and dirty after watching the movie. I even had a talk with one of our classmates after that movie and I really thought hard on what to write about.
It seems that most people are not very interest in the "Fat Girl" But I really love this moive because it really brings something different to me. There are lots of long phrases druing the whole movie. In my opinion, the director is trying to depict a very natual condition with these long time shots to show the sisters' and other people's emotions, desires and even complicate anthropology. These shots envoke a meditation of the two sisters's relationship, which is very simple and contradictory. And also these shots brings an emotional interaction with spectators and the sisters. For example, when the 'fat girl' sings her song on the beach, we have been trough a meditation, maybe a self-dustruction. we are thinking about why she is singing, why she can not enjoin the beautiful love like her sister but being alone on the beach by herself and why she deserve her fate. in addition, we possibily could imagine our own situation, and imagine the fate that belongs to us. This film acheives its success from giving the spectator a space to expand their imaginations.
This is ART.
Matthew Gilson said...
I'd like to say that I believe myself to be a person who tries his best not to watch things that make me nauseous. Unfortunately that couldn't be avoided here.
This film was utterly revolting and I did not enjoy any scenes that I was presented. Since I have to choose one to talk about thought I will.
I found the shot with the Fat girl crying while her sister and Fernando consummate their so called love in the background behind them tolerable at least. I'm not sure as to why she is crying. In a 'normal' film I would say that it's obvious. She's crying because her sister has stolen her only love away to place her mark on his loins first and foremost, but considering this film, I don't think that would be an option. It would just make too much sense. She is probably crying about something completely unrelated like her own inescapable sadness about her weight.
I bet she doesn't even know they're there!
The movie presents to us a common thing all over the world, a not so innocent 15 year old girl, seduced by a 20 something, college guy, who promises everything in exchange for the 'proof' her love.
The most amazing shot of this movie is the one where we see the close-up of Anais crying in her bed, while Elena is having her sexual experience with Fernando.
The camera captures the couple in the background, we see their legs in the bed, and we can also hear the sounds they make, but the sex act isn't completly obvious. I thought it was a great way to catch this act between the two lovers, and in the same time be aware of what is happening to Anais, who watches and hears everything close by. We can't realize exactly why she is crying, if she fells bad for her sister loosing her innocense, if she is jealous, if she is nosious...
the shot that stood out for me in this moive was the one when they just arrived at the beach, a extreme-long shot of the Anais standing among the grass and a white lighthouse as background, we can hear the wind is blowing but the grass almost seems still, not a lot of movement in the shot, it almost can be viewd as watching a painting.
Okay, so I know a few other people chose this scene but I too felt it was the shot that moved me. The shot I am refering to is the shot where Elena and Fernando are having sex. It is a still camera shot with Anais in the foreground and Fernando and Elena in the background. Also the shot is a close up of Anais (her face is covers the bottom left of the frame); Elena's and Fernando's bodies are upper right on the frame. Of course this is to stress the opposite notion of the two sisters. Anais is crying (displeasurable) and Elena is making love (supposedly pleasurable).
This one shot to me was really the pinnacle of the sisters opposite rule. The film made it seem as though they were one person split down the middle with opposite attributes divided amongst them. Countless times in the movie the two sisters were portraying opposite emotions and behaviours. IE. Fat vs. skinny, short vs. tall, older vs. younger. I feel the only physical polar opposite missing was they had the same hair colour. Also Anais was always alone, while Elena was with anyone. The sisters shared an emotional connection though. In keeping with the opposite rule if one should have been showing an emotion the other would express it. I could list many more examples of how the sisters are two sides of the same coin but thats what Tuesday's class is for.
I thought this movie was more thought provoking than disgusting. It is after all just a movie.
Andrew Kleysen
So the shot that I found the most interesting from the movie is a shot that most others talked about already. I am referring to the shot of Anais crying in her bed looking towards the camera while Elena and Fernado are having sex in the background. Like most others that commented on this shot I don't know the true reason as to Anais crying other than the fact that it really moved me, it felt to me that she was the one that was losing her innocence not her sister or the fact that she was watching her sister being gullible to the degree of sincerity that Fernado gives to Elena. Again, one could question the true meaning of this shot and get tons of different answers from different perspectives but in the end it just stirs up alot of emotions to the viewer.
I find the movie, awkward and discomforting. There are scenes where I myself where I am suppose to feel awkward to a level where I am feeling pity for Anias and her sister. The shot that moved me was Alena and Anias looking at the themselves in the mirror. I find this shows their love and hate relationship. You can see similar features like the eyes, hair and skin colour of the two sisters. I like how the director shows the reflection from the mirror. It is like Anias sees who she is inside but everyone else sees her fat. The converstation/ confession was a slap in Anias' face. There was more verbal abuse than physical. I feel that this is related with Anias being fat, no one wants to be physical with her, only to use her to their best advantage.
The shot that i found most moving was from the beach, Anaïs is seen walking across the sandy beach with a somber look across her face in this daytime shot. A lighthouse is seen in the background , and portrays many levels of symbolism expressed already on this blog. Her loneliness and the sexual imagery, but also her feeling that she watching over her sister Elena as she goes through this odd relationship. Throughout the film Anaïs is seen watching Elena flirt with Fernando and eventually even witness them having intercourse. Comparable to the cold crashing waves the lighthouse is forced to watch over every day.
A Very disturbing film and quite hard to swallow but amazing acting by such a young actress !
Hopefully I'm not commenting too late. Looking at all the previous posts, apparently I wasn't the only one moved by the shot of Anais crying while her sister and Fernando are having sex in the background. I'm not too surprised that this is such a popular shot however since I personally feel as if this one shot was the defining moment of the film. I was actually kind of surprised by the scene since it came after a long period of not focusing on Anais at all. Her crying seems to have multiple reasons as many have mentioned before; on the more innocent side it is a girl upset that her sister is being taken advantage of but on the other hand it can be looked at as Anais wishing she was in her sister's place.
The ending of this film I found particularly thought-provoking. At the time it seemed completely random, but it was actually foreshadowed through-out the film. Anais said multiple times that she wanted her first time to be with someone she didn't love. When they pulled the car over because Anais was sick Elena said that she wished that she and her mother were dead and asked Anais if she wished she were dead and she said "No." and then in the final scene the mother and Elena both died and Anais survived. However I don't buy into the ending completely because I'm pretty sure that Anais would prefer her mother and sister living over losing her virginity.
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