A 3-2 decision by the members of the Ontario Film Review Board’s appeals
panel to uphold the decision barring the release of the Quebec-produced
film Fat Girl (A ma soeur!) has touched off an uproar in
the Canadian province.
Robert Warren, head of the censor board,
acknowledged that “this is a serious and well-done film,” but allowing
it to be shown, he said, would set a precedent that could be exploited
by less serious-minded filmmakers.
Today’s Toronto Star
decided to run a review of the movie anyway “in the interest of
serving public awareness of what people in Ontario are not permitted to
see.” (The review, by critic Geoff Pevere, concludes: “Bold but
unrelenting in its depiction of both physical and emotional aggression,
Fat Girl will be bracing for those open to its challenges and brutal for
those who aren’t. Be forewarned.”)
The film has been cleared for release
in other Canadian provinces and in the U.S., where it has received
mostly positive reviews.
