I remember this French / Belgian film getting released with quite a buzz about it and not without a slight hint of controversy. I immediately picked up the Blu Ray via Universal pictures and equally enjoyed and found myself nauseated by it. The film was all we had though on this bare-bones release and I knew there was probably a fair bit more to it than that and a story behind it both on the sides of the director and the stars. Thankfully now we have Second Sight giving the 2016 feature some new life and it is absolutely rammed with extras, so hopefully any questions people have about it will be unveiled as they watch them all.
It’s quite an apt time for Raw aka Grave to appear again as it is set in a university and student life is very topical what with behaviour in lockdown and all manner of improprieties coming to light, certainly in the UK of sexual abuse and scandals in the corridors of academia. We are introduced to Justine (Garance Marillier) who is being taken to Uni by her parents. During the trip we learn that they both attended the same place and her sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) is currently studying there too. We also unwittingly learn that she is a vegetarian after she is possibly maliciously served meat at a stop off meal. It’s probably not best being one when it is med school that she is going to in the hope of becoming a vet. Once there, things quickly escalate and the horrible ritual of hazing starts with the new student’s beds being thrown out the window and them being herded through rites and humiliation by their peers. Of-course all this leads to partying, sexual tension, drink, drugs and all the things that come before actual learning. Watching this, one can’t not be appalled by the bullying and think it should have gone out with the ark, or at least the times of Lindsay Anderson’s If (1968). It’s far from jolly japes and done by the sort of nauseating people who could, Christ forbid end up as the captains of both industry and Government and be in charge of running the country. Being med-students it gets worse as they are drenched in buckets of animal blood and harried into eating raw meat from the labs.
The relationship between Justine and Alexia develops and bonds during all this but their behaviour also becomes stranger and more erratic. Justine develops an uncomfortable skin condition and a craving for meat. The girls also form an attachment to Justine’s gay hunky dorm sharer Adrien (Rabah Naït Oufella) who becomes entwined in their increasingly bizarre behaviour. The film draws you in, these are actually quite likeable characters and anyone who attended higher learning will no doubt have an empathy towards what is going on. The acting is also very good by the central cast who one would expect are just starting out on their careers. Cinematography is excellent and university is made to look both shambling, futuristic and trippy with various lighting. The few times we escape the confines, what I assume is the Belgian countryside looks flat, featureless and somewhat deserted apart from odd characters who pop up in motorway stations seemingly escaping from a film like Fabrice Du Welz Calvaire (2004). As mystery deepens what we have here essentially is a body horror film and we know they never have a happy ending.
I know nothing about Julia Ducournau but this fits very much into the French extreme cinema mould and she obviously knows her source material. I was reminded of firstly Jean Rollins Fascination (1979) but also very much of the more contemporary films of Catherine Breillat due to the tragic coming of age scenario and of course Marina de Van shocking Dans ma Peau (2002). The strange sisterly bond has facets of the French, Canadian trilogy and highly underrated Ginger Snaps and I was also heavily reminded of Mexican film We Are What We Are (2010 Jorge Michel Grau). Make no mistake there are some incredibly memorable and revolting scenes in the film and you don’t know where it is exactly going to take you. Raw will appeal to hardened horror fans but it equally may appal them in its absurdities. I know others who hated it but coming back to it several years after last seeing, it certainly gave me further appreciation. Now to the extras and hopefully more of an insight.
First interviewee is Garance Marillier (Justine) who was just 16 when working on Raw. She says she likes acting in such roles as it gives an opportunity to do things different from what she encounters in real life and we should certainly hope so. Having been in Julia Ducournau’s short film Junior their paths seem to have been entwined leading to a successful sisterly like working relationship. She tells us about how certain scenes were filmed as well as what the film means to her and the fact that the success of it acted as a springboard to further things. Catch her in the new Netflix adaptation Madame Claude. I expect good things for this talented actor. Next it is the turn of producer Jean de Forêts, his is a story of taking a chance and being slightly more audacious with budget than was first envisaged. Getting an authentic look was important and many scenes were filmed in a real vet school. The self-described film buff does mention US based preppy frat films and Carrie but Raw is a far more unique in tone and structure than them in my opinion. Not a teen film in any respect, that audience would always go and see films like Fast And Furious, Raw is more for the genre cineaste and it did well for what it is, people fainted at screenings and the rest of us went away uncomfortably happy.
Director Ducournau gets a 48-minute feature here and is interviewed by Fausto Fasulo of Mad Movies. The development of the script is 1st topic of conversation and it is interesting to learn that although the trinity of characters was realised early on it was not till later that it made sense for the 2 girls to be sisters. There was also meant to be scenes initially filmed in Morocco which would have certainly put a twist on it all especially on a film that is aptly described as “frontal and cold” by the interviewer. All aspects of the filmic process are discussed in detail, from the script to narrative flow and colour palette and cinematography for which the look of a film like Croneberg’s The Fly is cited. Ducournau is definitely not a director who does things on the fly, every single nuance is carefully scripted in detail to achieve the end result and the process is a fascinating one when it is presented to you here. Other main subjects are the relationship and motivations of working with Garance Marillier and the subject of composing the score with Jim Williams and the director’s love of the scores he did with Ben Wheatley. It’s a shame really that Ducournau has not done much film wise since Raw although Titane looks interesting as a future feature.
A brand-new video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas takes us through “the rituals of food and family” giving a running commentary of the film itself and condensing it into 13 minutes with observations. She also snatches a very quick interview with the director filmed as with the bulk of the remaining features at Monster Fest Australia where the film won The Golden Monster Award in 2016. Film critic Emma Westwood also chats with the director and among other things asks the interesting question about whether a male audience may take something different away from the film than a female one. I have avoided the “f” word up till now but obviously the carnal carnivores along with the writer / film maker do give the movie a feminist slant but Ducournau doesn’t make too heavy an issue of it and states even if there had been two brothers in the main parts the story would essentially have remained the same. During all this Cronenberg is mentioned as a major influence, one can only imagine him making a film about twin sisters performing vasectomy? Going much more in depth on various themes is a round table (well oblong actually) discussion Genre Matters: Women Genre Filmmakers” Monster Fest panel with Julia Ducournau, Briony Kidd, Mattie Do, Marisa Brown, Heidi Lee Douglas, Donna McRae, and Isabel Peppard. At nearly an hour in length this is an interesting feature from those involved in directing, producing and scriptwriting which will no doubt have you heading online and seeing what films to check out from the panel. Kier La Janisse introduces the Australian premiere of Raw and afterwards hosts a 42-minute Q&A session with the director. Add to this a couple of deleted scenes and two commentary tracks and this is one serious amount of extras. Whether you want to sit through them all or not, one thing is certain and that is there is a staggering amount here for a film by a first feature director and this is more in line with what one might expect to find in the way of supplementary material on a Peter Jackson or Ridley Scott epic. I guess you can pick through these morsels at your own leisure after the main course but you will be stuffed by the time you get to the end. Thankfully we are informed during the course of all this that an American remake has not been optioned yet; somehow though I expect it is only a matter of time.
(Pete Woods)
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