Titane - An offbeat tale about Unconditional Love
I had seen Julia Dicournau's 2016 film, "Raw", and loved it. After that I was looking forward to her next film, the much awaited, 'Titane', and after viewing it, Julia doesn't disappoint.
Firstly, although I knew the film would probably elicit a physical reaction from me, considering she made 'Raw', I still wasn't prepared for what I was going to see. In a particular scene, I had to cover my mouth and force myself to continue watching because it was unexpected, and intentionally excessive.
If I describe the film, you'd probably want to un-hear it. I'm going to have to talk about the somewhat plot of the film, so I'm warning you. In the beginning of the film, our protagonist 'Adrien' is a child, and due to her father worrying about her not wearing a seatbelt, the car crashes and it ends in Adrien having Titanium inside her skull.
This causes her to have a peculiar relationship with machines. This was hinted at in the opening shot of the film where the camera roams around, grey and grungy mechanical parts, supported by the song "Wayfaring Stranger." Adrien hugging and kissing her car after walking out of the hospital, is just the beginning.
Later we see her dancing on top of a car as an adult. She has an almost sensual relationship with the vehicle, and after the dance, we see her relationship with people, and for the most part, it's cold and calculating. The titanium in her skull has, in a way, affected her to be mechanical.
Later in the film, as a lonely firefighter, Vincent identifies Adrien as her son, after she's forced to painfully change the way she looks, the film changes gears. He loves her unconditionally, and although deep down he knows that she isn't actually his son, he still treats her as he probably would to his actual son. But Adrien continues to be cold and dismissive of him.
Both of these characters are struggling with their own personal problems. Adrien gets impregnated by a car in the beginning of the film. (yes, you heard that right) And she's suffering from not just a pregnancy, but also hiding the fact that she's a woman. Meanwhile Vincent is getting only older, and wishes to be young and powerful by constantly taking steroids. When he's unable to do a successful pull-up, he curses in frustration.
Vincent tells Adrien that he doesn't care who she really is, and that to him, she will always be his son. This causes Adrien to soon trust Vincent, and she becomes more than the sum of her mechanical parts. She becomes a real human being, and expresses her emotions, to not just herself. She can now share the pain she had been dealing with inside the cold walls of her bedroom.
Titane isn't a perfect film, for me. It drags in many parts, and there have been other films that have emotionally resonated with me more than this one. It's also extremely unconventional in it's approach to storytelling, and I would totally get why someone wouldn't like this film. It's extremely difficult to watch, and has concepts that has never been even thought of.
But I do think that this is a fantastic film, that has a somewhat heartwarming theme, despite its subject matter which states otherwise. Julia Dicournau is a filmmaker with a unique voice, and we as an audience and a lover of the medium of film, should support and champion her work. She's already one of my favourite directors, and I truly cannot wait for what she comes up with next.
Thank Your for Reading
I hope you liked this blog review, please make sure to comment about your thoughts on the film, or on how I could possibly improve. Also follow my YouTube Channel "Detox with P-Talks Official" where I analyse movies and do other movie related content along with short films, etc.
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