MovieChat Forums > À ma soeur! (2001) Discussion > Redefining rape.

Redefining rape.

posted 11 years ago by sfsy1
4 replies | jump to latest

I can't help but to notice that the movie is trying to us change our impression of rape, and perhaps to help in the prevention of cases of rape that don't fit the bill of a typical case.

A huge portion of the film is dedicated to illustrating the relationship between that guy and the elder sis, which is exploitative in nature. He toyed with her feelings and robbed her chastity. Yet, most people would dismiss that as a misstep of the girl, when quite apparently, what the guy has committed is actually no less immoral than rape.

[–] velcronewsletter 10 years ago

i'm glad that someone else thinks this. fernando made me sick, manipulating and coercing elena and to not even stop when he could hear her anguished cries of pain made me want to castrate him. that is rapist behaviour. he thought a bit of saliva is adequate lubrication? on top of that, he then tells her what he really wants on waking up, is a blowjob. not bothering to ask her if she is alright, it's all about him and he coerces her into thinking that she must do everything he wants because this is love, apparently. she invited him to her room but just because he couldn't handle her changing her mind which she has a right to do, he practically raped her up the arse as well. ignoring that she wanted to take it slow, he couldn't care less about her, only wanted the novelty of having a virgin. that disgusting smirk on his face because he got what he wanted out of her needed to be slapped off his face. the audience should have been able to have seen how patronising towards her he was and how he kept his possessive hold over her and those pathetic excuses that he slept with girls just because he could but then contradicted himself by saying that he was a man and could resist when he wanted to. in the end, he didn't, he carried on, no matter the physical pain he caused her. and all he was concerned about was his privileged position at home and what it would do to his chances if he was seen with her, never mind what she thought or felt. while i don't like the idea of it usually, i just wished her father would have beaten him up

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To Spamalot or not to Spamalot?

[–] pinch_of_hope 10 years ago

This is the whole point of the movie that no one else on the board seems to understand. The ending is pretty clear, 'fat girl' believes she wasn't raped by the psycho killer because she now has a warped view of what consensual sex is (through observing her sister's creepy relationship).

[–] headnotfound 8 years ago

This is the whole point of the movie that no one else on the board seems to understand. The ending is pretty clear, 'fat girl' believes she wasn't raped by the psycho killer because she now has a warped view of what consensual sex is (through observing her sister's creepy relationship).

just to piggyback on this statement and expound a little bit:

Anais seems to clearly understand that her sister was manipulated into having sex, and for Elena to stop crying because "she deserves better," but to also be glad because the men who are sure to follow won't have to overcome her emotional obstacle of virginity.

So I don't think Anais's warped view of sex comes solely from witnessing her sister's manipulation. I think Anais already had a warped idea before that happened, and was even predicting Elena's sad outcome (that's maybe why she was crying during Elena's sex scene). Anais had said many times to her sister that she wanted her first time to be with someone she didn't love, because that way she wouldn't get hurt. She believed putting a value on virginity was emotionally destructive.

So while viewers most definitely believe Elena to have been raped in a less traditional view of the term, the real tragedy is Anais's view -- that being a virgin is "sick" and virginity is to be disposed of as soon as possible no matter the circumstances. When she is raped by the psycho killer, in her mind it is not rape because virginity doesn't count, and she has no emotional ties to him. I almost see that ending scene as a fantasy of Anais's , and didn't really happen. The reaction time of mother and Elena to the windshield smashing is too slow, even if they were asleep. I believe Anais was sitting in the back seat fantasing about ridding herself of her virginity now that her sister was no longer one. She also prided herself in doing things ahead of Elena (2 years to be exact) so suddenly there was a clock on Anais's losing her virginity. And the extreme violence of the act, in Anais's mind, was a way mute Elena's despondency over her situation -- sort of like "I was violently raped but I feel fine because virginity doesn't matter, so you should feel better now too."

[–] 8 years ago

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