Title: Raw
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Julia Ducournau
Starring: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

What It Is: Justine (Marillier) is a freshman student in a veterinary school. She is also a vegetarian. During her first week of classes, she’s hazed along with the rest of the freshman in school Justine is exposed to meat for the first time in her life. After being exposed Justine begins to crave meat, whether animal or something a bit more…close to home. With the help of her sister Alex, she’ll learn to cope with both college and her newly found addiction.

 What We Think: So apparently there were some interesting things that happen during this film’s premiere at last year’s TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). Some one passed out during the screening. As you’ll read there and I’ll explain here the film is someone difficult to watch. I loved that Ducournau pulled NO punches with her script. At its core, the film is a coming of age film. Our heroine is a naive young woman who seems to not have experienced much of life. There’s no loss of red splattered everywhere and not just from the blood. Ducournau implements the color into the cinematography. It really builds up throughout and along with the other fantastic uses of color forms a beautiful looking film.

Our Grade: B+, I recommend this film, but would caution every single person that sees this film that it is quite unnerving. It is violent, it is graphic and it is sexual. IF any or all of those things offend you stay away from this one. If you aren’t offended by this then, by all means, watch the film, its great. Julia Ducournau certainly has a future in this business, being that she’s still really young at only 33.