Titane

What an exhilarating and exciting film. No wonder it won the Palme d’Or. It was audacious, outrageous, provocative, original, freh, unpredictable, visceral, sympathetic, uncompromising, repulsive, engrossing, challenging and so much more.

It was a cinematic experience.

With a bare minimum of dialogue, director/writer Julia Doucournau crafted an immaculate journey that one never knew how it was going to end; and whether it will end or not.

Leading lady Agathe Rousselle was phenomenal. The make-up team definitely helped, but Rousselle fully inhabited her role. She was haunting and scary and terrifying, but yet beneath that cold, hardened exterior was was a child-like innocence that just needed to be loved. And you believed that.

Coupled with Vincent London who came in at the half-way mark, they made for a fascinating pair. Both so similar in what they desire and they need, but yet possibly so dangerous together.

Kudos to Ducournau for always keeping us guessing as to how the film will end, and when it finally arrived, it was as haunting and tender as when the film started.

The score by Jim Williams echoed the hauntedness of the cinematography by Ruben Impens. Lots of stark contrast juxtaposed with softness, in particular by the repeated motif of flames and fires. Death, destruction and rebirth. The allegories were not subtle.

Regardless, “Titane” absolutely deserved its accolades. However, my Best International Feature Film Oscar vote still goes to “Drive My Car”.