I get so bored
From six to ten
From ten to six
From six to six
All my life
Both day and night
I get so bored

If only
I could find
Alive or dead
A man, a body
An animal
I don’t mind
Just to dream

For I get so bored
From six to ten
From ten to six
From six to six
All my life
Both day and night
I get so bored

If only
I could find
Man or woman
A body, a soul
A werewolf
I couldn’t care less
Just to dream…

Film producers and distributors would intentionally delete one part of reel in order not to be boring, and therefore to make money. Think about “Riddick!” How cannot it be disappointed after it is slashed into pieces? However, whatever their intention is, sometimes they try to keep it unspoiled. Nevertheless, it is so difficult for “A Ma Soeur!” to be successful. It is somewhat violent but it lacks action scenes. It has strong sexual contents but the sex scenes are not that obscene but so nasty. It makes me embarrassed when I witness that Fernando coaxes to desperately rob Elena of her virginity. It is even more painful, when I observe them through Anais’ eyes, and especially when she weeps for the loss of her sister’s virginity. Moreover, the pitiless ending is even disturbing. However, it is the reality to be accepted, even though women - or even men - are unwilling to do.

Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood. So is Elena. She is young, pretty, and even coquettish enough to become the prey of a virile man. In “A Ma Soeur!,” Elena is a princess who must be conquered by a prince as in “Snow White,” “Cinderella,” and “Sleeping Beauty.” She also follows in the steps of actresses of Hollywood flicks such as “Pretty Woman” and “Maid in Manhattan.” However it is not so hilarious as in above romantic comedies when she degrades, blames, and sometimes embarrasses her chubby sister, Anais, in front of a man. She may not want Anais to be around her. She may regard Anais as a disgrace to her family. In the viewpoint of Catherine Breillat, ironically, Elena is the one who brings shame on feminity. And Breillat also prepares a requiem (”The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell”) for her and her mother. Their death is a foreseen shock in that sense.

God created woman to tame man. Anais can never be symbiotic with Elena in a sense feminism is incompatible with androcentrism. And she is the opposite side of her slim sister and her family. That is why she was unfortunately considered as an outsider, observer, and ugly duckling even in her family. However she finally turns herself into a swan, a real human being at the moment when she stares at camera, shouting “(he didn’t rape me.) Don’t believe me if you don’t want to.” This last scene is very meaningful, unforgettable, and controversial in a sense that she denies becoming a victimized object. Even though the process, or the way, of losing her virginity is so miserable, her “first time” was less painful than that of her sister. I believe that it liberates her into the subject of world. She will never sing that her life from six to six is boring, because much more rigorous reality awaits her.