Donuts for Breakfast

A young girl is teased at school for being fat, despite being great at the butterfly stroke. However she is constantly moody and upset. Everyday her mother sends her to the store to get bread where she is given donuts to keep quiet about being sexually abused by the shop keeper.

I wasn't sure what this was about when I watched it (often the best way!) and the film is quite shocking when you discover what's happening to this girl. The story is told in such a way that, like the adults, it's easy to believe that she is moody because she's fat and that's that. However what the story does is it shows how hard it is too see deeper than that and see what's really going on. However the story doesn't have anywhere to go – and it's impact is lessened by the open ending.

The performances are good – but the lead actress stands out and is a sympathetic character throughout. Overall this is good but it's not great – a less open plot would have helped as would a stronger focus and ending.