Raw – Grave (2016)

Directed by: Julia Ducournau | 99 minutes | drama, horror | Actors: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss, Bouli Lanners, Marion Vernoux, Thomas Mustin, Marouane Iddoub, Jean-Louis Sbille, Benjamin Boutboul

‘Raw’, Julia Ducournau’s debut film (!) had its Dutch premiere during the IFFR. The film is not really what you would call a crowd pleaser. ‘Raw’ is raw on (and even in) the stomach. Not a film for the faint of heart. It is made of thick wood, planks are sawn, really filmed in your face. Literally raw, straight forward, without limits. Not on any level. The director has no pity for the viewer. Not your taste? Also fine. She doesn’t seem to care at all. Too bad. Better luck next time.

‘Raw’ tells the story of the young student Justine (Garance Marillier’s magnificent role), who – like her older sister Alexia (an equally impressive Ella Rumpf) – is going to study to become a veterinarian. During the initiation, she is more or less forced to eat raw meat. As a convinced vegetarian, that is rather raw on her stomach. After the initial horror, she soon develops an insatiable appetite for raw meat. Together with her sister, she explores the limits of the permissible during wild university parties. Her gay roommate Adrien (Rabah Nait Oufella) seems like the ultimate trophy for both sisters. They both think it’s ‘so tasty to eat’. But Justine warns her sister: “Don’t touch him. He’s mine.”

‘Raw’ can be seen as an unconventionally sketched ‘coming-of-age’ drama. Justine tries to find her way among the seniors in the student world and also struggles with her burgeoning sexuality. Her sister takes her by the hand and despite the ‘accidents’ along the way, the attraction and repulsion, the family bond remains strong. With two no-nonsense vegetarian parents, they are at the mercy of each other and also more closely related than may have been previously thought.

As mentioned, ‘Raw’ will not be for everyone. There are scenes that make your stomach turn, but in general everything seems to be right. You have to take the sometimes horrific images for granted to understand the ‘heart’ of the film. The unconditional blood bond of family against a background of messing around with animals. A charge? Perhaps. A film that makes you think? Certainly! But also a film that, despite its ‘blood and gore’, deserves a large audience. Whose deed!