Review: Titane
A movie is best experienced knowing as little as possible about the movie you are about to see. Knowing the cast and knowing the director is good to know, as it could give you an idea of the kind of tone the movie will have. Knowing the genre is also good as if you could be looking for a comedy and end up seeing a horror movie. But beyond that, the less you know the better. If you can avoid trailers, plot synopsis, character descriptions, or anything else that could sway
A movie like Titane is proof of this idea. The less you know about it, the better the experience will be. This is a movie made by a mad genius and a movie made with passion, originality, skill, and empathy. You might not know the stars, you might not know the director, but what you need to know is that Titane is one of the very best movies of 2021 and unlike anything you have ever seen or will ever see.
Most of the time in my reviews, I’ll give a brief spot synopsis of the film to give you a context of what the film is about in case you don’t know. For this review, I will not. I am only going to give you what I feel is essential information for you to read so that you might be convinced to see Titane.
Titane is the latest film from French director Julia Ducournau, following her 2017 cannibal family drama, Raw. Titane made its premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s highest honor that has recently gone to films like Parasite, Shoplifters, and The Tree of Life.
The film stars Agathe Rousselle, in her feature film debut, and legendary French actor Vincent Lindon. These are two of the very best performances of the year. Rousselle is magnetic. You can’t take your eyes off her when she’s on-screen. And, more impressively, she barely says a word throughout the entire film. Her eyes and posture say everything. It is a raw, committed astounding performance from the newcomer. Lindon is the heart of Titane. The film changes tones when he enters it becomes a more emotional and sad movie. He is a man full of sadness, intensity, and desperation and Lindon displays all of it. He and Rousselle work wonders together.
What you are watching when you watch Titane is an artist in full control of their vision. Every cut, every camera move, every lighting choice, every music cue, every aspect of the film is from the maddening mind of Ducournau and executed to perfection. This is a movie that will shock you and make you feel uncomfortable with its violence and grittiness, but it is also a movie about paternal relationships and our want to be loved that you end up feeling emotional by the end of it. Nobody else could have made this movie except for Ducournau, which is one of the highest marks I think a director can achieve.
In a cinematic world run by comic book movies, sequels, and remakes, a movie like Titane feels like a diamond in the rough. This is a wholly original, shocking, masterful movie that goes in so many different directions, I had no idea what I was watching or what was going to happen. But long after the credits rolled and all the pieces had fallen into place, I still find myself thinking about Titane and will be for a long, long time.
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