Titane

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source: Titane

I am speechless! Erm......seriously I have no idea what i just watched? This has got to be one of the most unusual, disturbing, weird and completely bonkers film that I've seen in a while. The first 30 minutes of the film are the best for me, felt more a "standard" horror/thriller setup. However this film takes so many bizarre twists and turns which I'm not sure all worked. Trust me you have a lot of questions after seeing this film. Visually stunning I must say though and I love the fact that this is a really ballsy film, 100% original for that matter!! However I think it might have helped if now and then it was just a little boring or normal hahaha! I mean its an experience I wont forget but then again I wont rush to see this film again any time soon, I think I need to let my brain process this all. I completely understand why a lot of people would hate this film, it really is not for everyone!! 70% out of 100, I'm stunned and shocked how this turned out and the fact that someone thought of this idea for a film.........are they ok? Hahahah!!

Words have a meaning and Julia Ducournau twists them with a crude militant will: of course prejudices are born by cataloging in too narrow boxes; but removing the very notion of a box, what it promotes here is not diversity, it is a falsely subversive gloubi-boulga which has nothing touching, realistic or profound. Really disappointing from the author of Grave, which was much more successful and, for once, subversive.

American cinema can be a bore. As a society, we tend to overly focus on logic, writing, and pacing when it comes to great film. When it comes to the awful films, we focus on lousy production value, plot holes, incoherent writing and poorly realized characters. Everything is handed to us on a plate to pick and choose. We can delight in the simple nacho bowl of never ending sequels and franchises or indulge in the charcuterie board of an occasional Oscar contender. And then you have a film like Titane. Titane is like a wheel that just spilled its ball bearings all over the floor. You have to reach in certain places to find the balls and even pontificate where they might have rolled to. It's time consuming, difficult and makes you want to say "to heck with this" and get a new wheel at ACE Hardware. Such is the twisted mastery that is this vivid and outlandish film. Julia Ducournau continues to make the statement that we should give women more projects in the film world. Her version of France feels dirtier and grimier than most, even when it is bathed in neon lights. It's a statement toward the current trends, that she will twist them with more perverse and dangerous themes. We start the story with Alexia, who is on the run due to being a serial killer. She decides to impersonate a man that has been missing for years, but little does she know the father of the lost boy is as damaged as she is. If anything, Alexia's relationship with Vincent is a culmination of stress reaction to trauma. Alexia fetishizes and "makes love" to vehicles due to an accident she has in her youth. This leaves her with brain damage and possibly the source of her violence. Vincent lost his son after he apparently ran away, most likely due to the controlling and egomaniacal tendencies Vincent displays. Vincent battles time and a slowly dying body with testosterone in hopes he can reclaim his manhood that he lost when his son ran away and his wife unceremoniously left him. There is a lot to unpack. The film takes on complicated subjects like gender fluidity, possibly gender dysphoria, sexual fluidity, the male ego, homoeroticism in hyper masculine professions, technological encroachment and the dissipation of the traditional family unit. And then there is that ending. Phew. This is not an easy watch, even for people exposed to this cinema. If you like the neatly packaged and arranged simplicity of the common American cinema, this will not be for you. If you do like being challenged, then check this out.

Original. Daring. But doesn't quite gel. I am writing a review after ages. Perhaps it's a sign of a good movie that provoked this response. Or perhaps it's just appreciation for a director who really did go for it. Ducarnau demonstrated the Cronenbergesque body horror and satire in her first feature film. Titane has confirmed that she is definitely could be the next champion of extremely physical movies. Film reminds of themes of Crash ( 1996 ) and to some extent Videodrome ( 1983 ) . Keeping the cryptic and puzzling aspects aside, it's a basic story of finding closure and a place in this world, when you have ambiguous intimacy / sexuality, distorted physicality, suppressed emotions and childhood trauma. Ducarnau is however not quiet able to meet the ambition of ideas she is putting down on canvas. There is rather drastic shifts in tone of movie, which can be confusing. There is no harm in mixing genres but I felt a bit lost in parts of second half. The shock values of the scenes ( and they are shocking ) wears off once you are no longer sure of motives of players especially when you are not totally buying into it. In first 15 min, the film hits such high note that the twists and turns that follow almost negate the impact. I would say if you are looking for a provocative film, this is the one. However, keep an open mind. Titane is ambitious but it's not able to live up to its potential.

Since there are not any other reviews yet, I will leave this one free of spoilers. Having enjoyed the director's previous film Raw/Grave (2017), I was anticipating the release of Titane but was ultimately disappointed by the experience. As a fan of horror movies old and new, Grave managed to shock me during its more extreme scenes by having me engrossed in its story and characters. Titane has plenty of these kind of disturbing elements but is far less engaging. The film is hard to fault on a technical or execution level. The weak link is the distracting, if restrained, use of below-average CGI for some effects. The performances are believable and mostly consistent given the outlandish material, at least in the French version. The most realized aspect of the movie is the cinematography, which is an blend of the colors of Nicolas Winding Refn and intense images of Michael Bay. The similarities with Bay are reinforced by the content first few scenes, which led me to believe the movie would try to subvert the elements or vulgarity usually present his films. However it quickly falls out of this story-line and setting, leaving me to ponder what the goal of Titane actually is. The movie simultaneously follows two story-lines which seem to belong to two different genres. The first one is highly fantastical and horrific, but is treated very seriously. This is where the influence of David Cronenberg's early body horror films is felt. The second one is dramatic and grounded in reality, yet requires a big suspension of disbelief from the audience. Essentially the movie uses the disturbing content of one story-line to distract from the least believable aspects of the other: this would be fine if the unlikely setting was used to reach interesting or strange situations and ideas. During the viewing, I was most entertained with the film's few jabs at dark humor. My favorite scene in this vein actually occurs right before the main plot gets started, and from then on most of the humor disappears. I did not get much entertainment from the horrific content, which was not taken far enough and became obnoxious and numbing after a few scenes because of my lack of involvement in the story. Overall, this movie mixes elements from Under the Skin (2013), Enki Bilal's work, Conenberg's Crash (1996) and France's own Martyrs (2008). I did not enjoy those last two either, because I did not care for what they were trying to accomplish. I am not sure what Titane is trying to accomplish, but maybe someone else can have some use from it.

From the opening scene, Titane continuously doubles down on its own outrageous absurdity until it suddenly pulls back. You go from watching a thriller, to body horror, to something that has a lot to say about what it means to be family. Specifically, what it means to be family in action, not just by blood or oil. Titane somehow addresses gender fluidity, the role of parents to support and accept, the male ego slipping as bodies and testosterone age away, and the opportunity to choose a family not given to you by birth all while bombarding the screen with gore and squirm inducing violence. You find you cannot look away from these disturbing images partly because of how beautifully Titane presents them and partly because they all have something to say. Even though the film may retreat too far from its own deliriousness in the second half, it comes speeding back just in time for a finale that will have you guessing until its last push. Strap in because Titane is one hell of a ride.

What's that hype all about ? It's just some kind of cheaply made indie movie with a little bit of horror in it, a fairly unimaginative plot, and on the boring side for much of it . Especially the second act had barely anything going for it; the first part might have led to an entertaining psycho killer film , if it had continued , but it didn't . The car thing was never fully explored - whatever it was supposed to be - it was just an unnecessary gimmick . Not weird or original in any way, as previews and some reviews claimed, just a shallow and lazy attempt at making yet another generic horror flick . Minus the horror, even that was mostly missing .