When Raw made its run of the festival circuit last year, there were reports of audience members passing out, throwing up, and fleeing from theaters in a panic. Those reports, coupled with the movie's subject matter, naturally had us expecting a disgusting gore-fest that would leave us retching.
Unfortunately, Raw never quite gets to that level, and that's fine, but it certainly could have used a bit more of a nasty punch. It's still a great film, and it's definitely disturbing, but it left us a bit underwhelmed in that respect.
Justine is a 16-year-old from a strictly vegetarian family who is about to go away to veterinarian school; French veterinarian school, which means that there's going to be lots of sex, parting, and hazing of the weirdest kind. Her older, rebellious sister, Alexia is already a student there, but that doesn't mean that the hazing will be any easier for Justine, and in fact, it might even be harder.
COLLEGE: THE BEST TIME OF A YOUNG GIRLS LIFE. |
YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR THE BITERS. |
IT AIN'T EASY BEING A TEENAGE CANNIBAL. |
This is a gorgeous film, and one that I dare call artistic. Director Julia Ducournau has quite a visual eye, as well as a knack for telling a compelling story, and one that certainly goes to some dark places to say what it needs to say.
Garance Marillier owned the role of Justine. She started off convincingly as a shy, awkward girl who was out of her social depth, and transitioned into a predatory sex kitten with ease. The scene where she's dancing and making out with the mirror gave us chills.
SHE SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO VEGETABLES. |
SWEET JESUS, NOOOOOO.... |
FRANCE IS WEIRD. |
GOUTE L'ARC-EN-CIEL. |
It's still one to watch though, if you've got the stomach for it.
A
Raw is available now on VOD
Garance Marillier and Ella Rumpf are in this.
It's a Belgian-French co-production, the movie's recorded in Belgium (half the country speaks French).
ReplyDeleteI think they mention the school's in Brussels. So the story'd be set in Belgium, not France.
Sorry to sound like know-it-all btw =)
-Baron