Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Behind the scenes with Breillat... Something different , April 10, 2005
I actually enjoyed this movie. I did not find it boring or dull. I think viewers who approach this expecting another typical Breillat film (provocative, shocking) will indeed find it tedious. It is different from her other films. It doesn't have their sexual/moral agenda. Neither is it a comedy. It is almost documentary-like. I had the impression that I was watching a "Behind The Scenes" featurette that could have been appended to any one of her other films. The whole movie revolves around a director (obviously Breillat herself) who has trouble trying to set up a crucial sex scene in her movie because her two stars detest each other. For much of the movie, we watch her plead, cajole and threaten, her actors into giving her the performance she wants.
This is more a movie about the mechanics of making a film, specifically of shooting a sex scene and the difficult relationship between director and actor.
There isn't much nudity or actual sex in this film (well, at least compared to her other movies), although we do get to see Roxane Mesquida (the pretty sister in Fat Girl) full frontal and Gregoire Colin complete with rampant prosthetic. I can understand why it is derided, especially by fans of Breillat, but you can't expect a director to always provoke or shock. How boring would that be. Here we see her reflecting on the craft of film-making. If you have some interest in film-making or at least how Breillat herself shoots her films, this would be enlightening.
MGM's transfer is in the original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (anamorphic). The source print is clean. Colors are natural. Contrast and sharpness are fine. There is fine film grain throughout although this isn't distracting. Thankfully the English subtitles are optional.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a comedy, just another masterpiece from the great Catherine...., April 28, 2007
Catherine Breillat is one of the greatest filmmakers working today. Her films are extraordinarily accurate in their depiction of the war between the sexes. Too often people are terrified of her work (both the public and the critics), because it's so truthful. This film is a companion piece to her masterpiece Fat Girl, in that it is a depiction of the making of the scene where the older sister ends up having sex with a local suitor. It is not a comedy, it is a Catherine Brelliat film. Many people rent this film thinking it's going to be fun. It's a great film, and it's not frivilous. If you admire Breillat (which you should), you should rent this. If you hate her, stay away, and it's your loss...
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Wordy, Meandering and Tiresome Diatribe That is Anything BUT a Comedy, August 28, 2005
As one who loves films that appeal to intellectual sorties as well as those that simply tell stories, this film should have been appealing. But as written and directed by Catherine Breillat who seems to be playing out her own conundrums in filmmaking experiences, this tedious and talky film fails to arouse interest.
The main character Jeanne (Anne Parillaud) is the screen form of Breillat, a director frustrated in her attempts to film a convincing sex scene with two difficult actors (Grégoire Colin is The Actor and Roxane Mesquida is The Actress). The one 'comic' bit is Jeanne's imposing the use of a dildo strapped onto the Actor in order for her to drive the sex scene to fruition, but even this sight gag wears thin quickly and we are left with a film within a film that feels more like a 'Deleted Scenes' featurette on a DVD than a solid French comedy with class. Grady Harp, August 05
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