So… My review of the movie: What the fuck? What the fuck? What the hell did I watch?
Raw is a French-Belgian Movie directed by Julia Ducournau. It centers around a young vegetarian girl called Justine (played by Garance Marillier) as she starts her first year in veterinary school, the same one that her older sister Alexa (played by Ella Rumpf) is going to. She is a strict vegetarian but during one of the initiations in the school she is forced to eat raw rabbit kidneys. This seems to trigger something inside her as she starts having an insatiable desire for meat. At first the craving is not that bad, she sneaks off with her roomate Adrien and they go out and eat a sandwich. However she is dissatisfied with it and starts devouring raw chicken from the fridge. Things however get much more complex when her sister gets her finger cut off and ( minor spoiler alert) Justine blinded by her gluttony eats it. Thus becoming a cannibal.
That’s as much as I want to share about the plot of the movie without giving away too much. I came into this movie without knowing anything. I only watched the trailer which also does not say much and I am glad that I did. I honestly don’t even know where to start with this movie. I wanted to stop watching it multiple times but in the same time I could not look away. It is definitely one of if not the most intense movie that I have ever seen. Few other films have made me feel the way that this movie made me feel. It is a coming of age movie but don’t let that fool you. It is not just another Film like that. We see Justine try and face the harsh reality of growing up and exploring her sexuality. She is smart but a very weird and introverted person. We see her transform both physically and mentally. It is a very uneasy and disturbing journey but it is bloody brilliant (pun intended). Some of my favorite scenes in the movies were with both sisters together. The actresses did such an amazing job portraying them, we see them go from seemingly hating each other to accepting themselves and showing love. Paraphrasing the director herself the movie is about discovering your humanity trough something that we would qualify trough monstrosity. It is not promoting the heinous acts that she is performing, it is only using it as a tool to convey her growth and transformation as a person.
The movie can be interpreted in many ways. Some people say that she was some sort of monster or a vampire which I can see why they would think that. There are many scenes where she shows animal like tendencies and even starts moving like one. Some have said that it is a feminist or vegan propaganda movie which I honestly can’t see. Even the director laughed when she was asked about that. She is a regular person, simple as that.
I may have been rambling a bit oddly. I probably should have waited a bit till I could gather my thoughts but I really felt like I needed to talk about this movie right away. Now for the tricky thing. Would I actually recommend it? It’s very hard to say. It is a fantastic film, a masterpiece but it is a film that not everyone can finish. It also seems to be misunderstood quite often. I’ve seen reviews talking about how it is purely a “shock factor” film with no real plot which makes me think “did we even watch the same movie?” Like I know that not every film will be liked by everyone but saying that something sucks or is horrible just because you disliked it is just wrong. There are aspect of a movie which should not be affected by your personal taste. The acting was phenomenal, the cast went to great lengths to deliver such a performance. The cinematography was beautifully haunting and the music added so much to it. And for everyone that says there was not much of a plot they should stop writing reviews. I’m not saying you should like a movie just because it is a difficult movie that had a lot of work in it but saying that it was “trash” is just wrong.
I honestly don’t know. It does not even depend on your taste in movies. If it was up to me I would say watch it but that is mainly because I loved it so much. If you are interested check it out below:
Final verdict: 10/10
