Catherine Breillat movies: where to start?

I recently sat down and worked my way through a marathon of *romance*, *All About My Sister*, *Sex is Comedy*, and *Anatomy of Hell*. I watched them back-to-back, naturally—once you start diving into a specific director's body of work, there's no sense in stopping halfway through the collection.
On the whole, I found her talent as both a director and a screenwriter quite striking. To be clear, when I evaluate a film—not necessarily judging its technical "quality" per se, but rather its impact—my metric is simple: how much does it linger in my mind long after the credits roll? Does it haunt you?
Breillat pushes this very specific feminist agenda (or is it misandrist? I haven't quite decided yet 😁), but she manages to pull off something impressive: she crafts genuinely beautiful films without letting the political message suffocate the actual cinema. *All About My Sister* is a prime example of this balance.

I’m curious to hear what the rest of you think. Is she just peddling "Euro-trash"—you know, that cheap pornography masquerading as high art that some critics on IMDb 😁 love to complain about—or is she actually making legitimate, worthwhile cinema?

From what I’ve gathered, her films are notoriously polarizing on IMDb. Honestly, it’s a tough sell—trying to justify including full-blown pornography in a mainstream feature is a hard line to draw for most people. The only time I didn't find the explicit nature jarring was during *The Piano Teacher*, though I have to admit, Catherine Breillat is still miles away from reaching Haneke's level of mastery. 🙂

I’ve only sat through *All About My Sister* (which actually holds up better in the ratings), and I found it to be decent enough. That unexpected ending actually felt earned and made sense to me.

I would certainly be interested in seeing more of her work.

Man, this forum is actually starting to see some decent, heavy-hitting topics lately. Now we just gotta see if people actually show up to talk about them...

Check this out:

http://www.reel.com/reel.asp?node=fe...views/breillat

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/atoday...es/s101866.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2001/...p.artsfeatures

http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-10-...-the-strings/1

http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/int/...9/17/breillat/

I also uploaded a RAR file for you. It’s got three Word docs inside—some info on her and a couple of quick analyses. Plus, there are three PDFs: two short breakdowns and one beefier study looking at the connection between her and Beauvoir. It looks super interesting, though I haven't actually sat down to read it yet. Might be a bit provocative! --> http://rapidshare.com/files/174101316/breill.rar.html

Anyway, when things get this intense, why not dive in?

Arthur Garcia59 said:I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how many other similar films actually get an audience...

It only takes two people to hold a conversation, after all.

Have you even sat down to watch any of her work yet? I'd be curious to hear your take on them.

Nah. It’s just not really my thing. If I ever find myself with some extra time on my hands, maybe I'll give it a look.

Hannah Vaughn4 said:I recently sat through a marathon of romance, All About My Sister, Sex is Comedy, and Anatomy of Hell. Naturally, I watched them back-to-back (and ended up diving into the rest of her filmography too).
Overall, I found her work as a director and screenwriter quite striking. To be clear, when I evaluate a film—not necessarily judging its objective quality—it really comes down to how much it sticks in my mind long after the credits roll.
Breillat pushes this specific feminist (or maybe misandrist? I'm still weighing that 😁) agenda, yet she somehow manages to craft beautiful films without letting the message completely cannibalize the storytelling. All About My Sister is a prime example of that balance.

I’m curious to hear what you all think. Is she just peddling "euro-trash"—you know, cheap smut masquerading as high art, which is what some people claim on IMDb 😁—or does she actually make decent cinema?

I haven't caught Sex is Comedy, but I did see A True Young Girl, and it's a solid enough piece of filmmaking. As for Anatomy of Hell, I struggled with it; it felt like a clunky attempt at using philosophy to justify nudity and sex. Honestly, once she cast Rocco Sifredi, she might as well have just made an adult film instead of bothering us with all that heavy-handed lamentation about the symbolic meaning of menstrual blood and similar nonsense. Her arguments feel incredibly forced, likely serving as a vent for her own personal frustrations, much like how Passion seems to reveal Gibson's own biases. Furthermore, if she was going for total explicitness, she could have had the lead actress handle the penetration scenes herself rather than relying on an anonymous body double; as it stands, it just feels like she's trying too hard to manipulate the audience. I have no complaints regarding romance or All About My Sister.

David Walker4 said:I find myself without any particular complaints regarding romance or All About My Sister.

Why didn't that heavy-set woman mention she had been raped?

goldenhound32 said:Why didn't that fat girl mention she was raped?

Because the whole point of her character is this desperate, constant attempt to hook up with anyone who will look her way, all while she’s nursing this deep-seated jealousy toward her older sister, who manages to pull it off effortlessly. To me, it felt like she wasn't even truly processing the weight of it—not the loss of her sister, nor the fact that she was assaulted... it just seemed secondary to her own internal chaos.

David Walker4 said:I walked away feeling like she wasn't even particularly devastated by her sister's death.

I had the exact same impression. It leaves one wondering: is this just some cheap, pretentious grab by the director, or was there some underlying resentment because her sister was actually attractive?

goldenhound32 said:I feel the exact same way. Is this just some cheap attempt at prestige filmmaking by a director, or does she actually just harbor a deep-seated resentment toward her sister for being so conventionally attractive?

Honestly, I think the film works precisely because it touches on so many messy, uncomfortable layers:

1. That blurry, terrifying line between sexual assault and masochistic gratification.

2. The concept of "sexual desperation"—how far a person will actually go when they’re starved for intimacy.

3. The complicated intersection of body image and sexuality, specifically whether a plus-sized woman can be perceived as sexually magnetic.

4. The sheer absurdity of how the rapist seems almost more honest in his actions than anyone else in her circle—even more "straightforward" than the guy who manipulated her sister (even if he didn't physically assault her).

Plus, there's something subversive about seeing a plus-sized body shown so vulnerably on screen. It breaks those typical Hollywood taboos where every actor looks like a fitness model even when they're just standing in a swimsuit, let alone fully nude.

goldenhound32 said:I felt the exact same way. Is this just some cheap attempt at prestige filmmaking by the director, or was she actually just bitter toward her sister because of how good she looked?

Personally, I didn't get the vibe that they hated each other. They had a sisterly bond—not necessarily a perfect one, mind you—but there was clearly a sense of caring there. You can see it in a few specific scenes.

Now, as for what the actual point of an ending like that is... I'm still not entirely sold. But I do find myself agreeing with one critic over on IMDb: the climax feels more like the film is assaulting the audience than anything else happening to the girl. Whether that was necessary or not is debatable, but it’s effective, and in its own twisted way, it ties the whole aesthetic together.

@David Walker4/">@@David Walker4 - you hit the nail on the head regarding Anatomy of Hell. To put it politely, that film is essentially the director engaging in cinematic masturbation. 😁
While she managed to find that elusive sweet spot between raw eroticism and genuine emotion in All About My Sister, she completely overshot the mark with Anatomy of Hell.

Hannah Vaughn4 said:Honestly, I’m sitting here wondering what the actual point of an ending like that is—it just doesn't quite click for me. That said, I find myself nodding along with one particular reviewer over on IMDb who made a pretty sharp observation: the whole thing feels less like an assault on the female lead and more like a direct assault on the audience itself. Whether that kind of shock value is actually necessary is debatable, but you can't deny it's effective. In its own twisted, messed-up way, it manages to wrap up the film's entire aesthetic perfectly.

I honestly don't get the whole "assaulting the audience" thing. I mean, look, I’m not easily rattled by those kinds of graphic details in cinema—it doesn't really trigger an emotional reaction in me. Instead, I find myself stuck on the intellectual side of things, wondering what the actual purpose of that shock factor is supposed to be. It feels like a gimmick sometimes. Speaking of which, have you ever sat through *Irreversible*?

While I think she absolutely nailed that delicate balance between raw smut and genuine emotion in *All About My Sister*, she really went overboard with *Anatomy of Hell*.

Is every depiction of sex necessarily pornography? It’s one of those questions that really gets to the heart of how we define art versus exploitation. Take the film *Intimacy*, for example—I’ve been chewing on that one lately. I find myself genuinely torn about whether what Catherine Breillat is doing actually crosses the line into pornography or if it stays firmly within the realm of cinema. It’s a fine line, isn't it? I'm curious to hear what everyone else thinks about where we should draw that boundary.

Does anyone happen to have any of her films available, besides "a Ma soer"? I honestly can't stop thinking about how much that ending shook me; I've sat through all sorts of intense cinema before, but that one was just... wow.