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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer ( 58:34)
  Languages
  • French: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English
  Extras
  • 9 Theatrical trailer
  • Cast/crew biographies - Director bio - text only
  • Animated menus

A Ma Soeur! (Rental)

Madman Entertainment/AV Channel . R4 . COLOR . 83 mins . R . PAL

  Feature
Contract

A Ma Soeur! (For My Sister!) is the story of two teenage sisters coming to terms with their burgeoning sexuality and sexual awareness. Elena (Roxane Mesquida) is 15, shapely, beautiful, and will undoubtedly end up a classic French beauty. Anaïs (Anaïs Reboux) is just 13, dumpy, not particularly attractive, and probably always will be. They may be sisters, but they have little in common, except the desire to unburden themselves of their virginity, and to nurture their ongoing love-hate relationship.

On holidays in southern France, they make a bet to see who can be the first to seduce a man, any man, and at 13 you have to wonder just how serious the younger sister is. Elena spots her target immediately in a small cafe, Fernando (Libero De Rienzo), an Italian student studying law. Fernando is quick to respond to Elena's advances, and Elena finds herself quickly falling for his charms.

Fernando is your typical young European man on holiday, turning on the charm at will and very successful in getting what he wants. Elena, being so young, thinks she has fallen in love with Fernando, and believes that Fernando loves her. I mean, he said it, didn't he? It must be true!

Anaïs' jealousy, at 13, is just one of her demons. As much as she love-hates her sister, and despises the sexual liaisons with Fernando that take place in the room they share, she wishes that she were in her sister's place. Her quietly played-out fantasies reveal her deep desire to be the attractive woman that her sister is becoming.

The ending will undoubtedly come as a complete surprise, and will both shock and revolt you. It will also raise more questions than it answers, but rest assured, this is not one of those films that has a sudden, jarring, nonsensical ending.

French director Catherine Breillat has created a typically continental drama. As with all of Breillat's films, A Ma Soeur! explores the sexual awakenings of young women. It will shock a few with its honesty and raw approach. There is full male and female nudity, hence the R rating, and it may cross lines that some will feel ought not be crossed, including underage sex. The last few scenes will hit you out of the blue, made even more jarring when juxtaposed with the pacing of the majority of the film that moves along steadily, slowing down to a crawl just before the climactic ending. One for the open-minded only...

  Video
Contract

A Ma Soeur! is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, is 16x9 enhanced and overall features a good transfer. General detail is good, with a clear and sharp image. There are no problems with compression or film to video artefacts, problems such as aliasing are non-existent. There is also no evidence of grain.

Colours are good, and skin tones are natural. There is no evidence of colour bleeding or cross-colouration, and black levels are also very good, even and deep. There is no sign of chroma or low-level noise and shadow detail is also very good.

The layer change is well placed at 58:34.

  Audio
Contract

There is only one audio track and that is a French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. English subtitles are provided, but strangely they need to be selected via the remote control and on-screen display as there is nowhere in any menu where they can be chosen. Although this is a stereo presentation, there is little to no noticeable separation and all vocals and background noise is evenly spread between left and right front speakers. Only the final few scenes make any real use of panning.

The low-level sounds prove themselves to be deep and rich, though mostly when the French contemporary songs that make up the soundtrack are on display. At other times, there is little to no music. This is a dialogue driven film and all vocals are clear and well synchronised.

  Extras
Contract

There are minimal extras on offer, unfortunately, and they are not very impressive. There is a five page Biography of director Catherine Breillat, which is informative and interesting enough. There is also a Theatrical Trailer for the film, presented with the same specifications as the feature, though not 16x9 enhanced. There is nothing particularly interesting about this 1:15 minute trailer.

The other extra is <Madman Propaganda, which is a collection of eight trailers for the films Lamumba, No Man's Land, All Over The Guy, Kandaha, The Piano Teacher, The Closet, Divided We Fall, and The Circle. They are all presented in either full frame or 1.85:1, though none are 16x9 enhanced, and all have Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

  Overall  
Contract

For lovers of French soft porn, you're in luck. Well, okay, that's a bit harsh, but there are some that would argue that this indeed is a voyeur's dream. It tells the story of the sexual awakening of two sisters, both under legal age, and includes full nudity. This films pushes the boundaries and blurs the line between pornography and art, and some viewers will be offended, so please approach this film having been warned. There is most definitely a story within the film, and some powerful emotions on display, but A Ma Soeur! is not for the resolutely moralistic.


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      And I quote...
    "There's a fine line between pornography and art, and this film manages to stay on the right side - just!"
    - Terry Kemp
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai
    • TV:
          TEAC CT-F803 80cm Super Flat Screen
    • Receiver:
          Pioneer VSX-D409
    • Speakers:
          Wellings
    • Centre Speaker:
          Wellings
    • Surrounds:
          Wellings
    • Subwoofer:
          Sherwood SP 210W
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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