It’s Fathers Day, so let’s talk about a fucked up movie. I didn’t plan for this at all, but here we are. This is a movie that I absolutely adore and just recently watched again. It has a plot very much about a father and daughter relationship and acceptance. I decided after some reviews I was watching that I should talk about this film and I was surprised I hadn’t wrote about it yet. I was at the end of the reaction video from Pillbox Movies on YouTube when it clicked in my head that this was the perfect time to look into this film, that being TITANE.
TITANE is a film that you either know about based on its reputation or you haven’t. It’s all based on how into film festivals and international films you are. TITANE is the second film from french director Julia Ducournau who’s first film was 2016’s RAW. RAW is a film that I definitely want to also write a piece on and I’ll probably be doing that real soon. Julia is known for making body horror films that are also packed to the brim with subtext. I can’t really say anything about TITANE without spoiling it based on how elusive it is, you got to see it for yourself. Before I get into the specifics of the film itself and break down why the film is important to me, I will just review it in a way without actually talking about it. Julia Ducournau continues her style of blending what some would consider extreme horror with some complex human concepts that everyone can relate to. This film is fucked up in some ways but it’s also super endearing and touching in other ways. One of the standout elements has to be the performances. Agathe Rousselle is fantastic in this film and it is further evidenced when you put into perspective that this was her first performance ever. Vincent Lindon is also fantastic in this, which many suspected based on his already impressive body of work. The film is very surreal and takes you to a world that is somewhat realistic but also not at the same time. This film has many touches of Cronenberg body horror but it also has some real honest human drama. If you are wondering if this is worth checking out, it is. On a simple review level, this is a definite recommendation.
Now that we have that out of the way, it’s time to actually unwrap this film. TITANE is a film that i’ve seen discussed from two different sided online. Some love it and see a deep and rich subtext present and some just see it as a shocking horror film. When it comes to the subtext of the film, this really isn’t an argument of whether or not there is any subtext, it’s more of a discussion on experiences. While it is one of those films that people who look for deeper meanings will see more than purely entertainment viewers, there’s a few elements that are needed to fully unlock this film and that comes from certain life experiences. It’s no secret to those who saw RAW, that this film is also tackling the idea of identity. Julia has a flare for telling stories about identity and connections with others through the means of body horror. While RAW looks at the idea of coming of age, specifically in university, TITANE looks at a different thing entirely when it comes to identity. A lot of people in their criticism of TITANE say that RAW was a much more accessible film than TITANE. When you look at the subject matter in terms of identity with both, it’s pretty clear why that argument is passed around. Everyone can relate to RAW in the depiction of growing up and finding yourself but not everyone can relate to what TITANE is dishing out. The topics in the realm of identity that TITANE is discussing is something that a smaller amount of people can truly relate to. That topic at the heart of TITANE is that of the experiences of trans individuals and their family members. While some might not catch that right away, a deeper analysis of the film points directly at that concept.
The plot itself is a wild one. We follow a woman named Alexia who is part metal after she gets into a car crash as a kid. She’s a dancer at a car show and she also ends up being a serial killer. The wildest of these elements present in the film is her connection to cars. After her car crash, she begins to have an attraction towards cars. The inciting incident is her ending up pregnant from her car one night and killing a group of young people the next day. She’s on the run now and she comes up with a plan. She sees a missing poster and decides to pretend to be this the son of a man named Vincent to evade arrest. The pair begin to form a bond as she pretends to be the son that he lost years previous.
While the plot is wild, the subtext of the film is very much present and human. This whole movie is about the search for acceptance. The whole time she’s with the father, Alexia’s pretending to be this son until one day where Vincent accidentally walks in on her in the bathroom. His line of dialogue is what sealed the deal for me and was the first indicator of this subtext. Lindon’s character says to her “I don’t care who you are, you will always be my son”. That line seems purposely placed into the film to tell the audience that this whole film is about identity and acceptance. There are little moments in the movie where she does something and the father recognizes it as something that his son did, further deepening his connection to her as his son.
The film also talks deeply about gender roles and fluidity in a way. There’s a mention about the father being gay which is a definite contrast to some of the other scenes where he’s putting on a front. There’s many scenes of him injecting himself with steroids in an attempt to keep hold of his masculinity. We see quite the opposite in the beginning during the amazing one shot of Alexia dancing on the car at one of the car shows. She’s dancing and grinding in a way that is seen as a hypersexual view of what a woman is suppose to “look like”. That directly contrasted the macho attitude that Vincent puts on in front of the guys he works with to further strengthen his perceived masculinity. This film along with the idea of trans identity also discusses the idea of gender roles and the idea of fluidity that’s found in everyone.
The final scene completely ties these two ideas up in a way. We see as Alexia is giving birth to this random car baby. Vincent sees the situation at hand and helps her. The film ends with Alexia dying and Vincent holding the baby in almost a motherly way. He seems determined to take care of this kid the way he wasn’t able to for his son. He finally gives up the masculine front and accepts himself. He also accepts Alexia in a way that I can only describe as being reminiscent of a parent accepting a child in a trans light. He’s beginning to help her when he says his son’s name, she corrects him and he quickly validates it and starts to recognize her fully as her true identity.
If these elements were in a more simple and straight forward film that seemed to not have any subtext at all, i would brush them off. The fact that this film works heavily in the surreal and it very much on the face about a woman pretending to be the son of an man with gender insecurities, it’s not too much of a stretch to make those connections. The fact as well that Julia’s last film was also deeply about identity, I don’t think this is a terrible reading. I get if people don’t see it in the film, but it’s definitely lingering in this film. While TITANE is a fucked up french extremist horror flick, it’s also a deep examination of trans people and their families, acceptance, identity and gender fluidity.
With all that out of the way, it probably makes complete sense why I stated that this was a great film to get an essay around father’s day. I’m not saying that i’m a car obsessed serial killer or my dad is a gay man that has issues with his gender identity, but the basic subtext at hand is to real and honest not to hit me a certain way. The idea of a story focusing on both sides of the trans experience, that of the parents and that of the person going through the change is way too relatable. This first came out at TIFF 2021. I saw it after when it was released limited because I missed out on TIFF tickets. At that point in my life, I was not out as a trans woman but it was definitely something that was spiralling around inside me. At that point, I already started using He/They pronouns in a way to signal my gender not being “the standard”. I don’t know if i’ve ever been honest about this, but the reason I used the They pronouns was to possibly ease everyone I knew into another way of thinking when it came to me. Many see the idea of changing labels as something that invalidates the idea of the label itself, but in my case like I believe probably for others, the slow movement through pronouns was a way to ease myself and those around me into my true self. At the time I saw this film, I was already pretty sure that my identity was going down this particular road. That’s probably why the movie meant so much to me at that time. Rewatching it after coming out and living sometime as this version of myself, I can confirm that I was drawn to it entirely based on how much I related to Alexia and her situation subconsciously. Her struggles of identity and acceptance were something that was already brewing inside me and now after coming out, I appreciate the film even more. For that, this essay is dedicated to my father, as for the release on Fathers Day. It’s also dedicated to my mother for that matter as they both had a similar sentiment to Vincent Lindon in this, that being “I don’t care who you are, you will always be my child”. I would even include my sister in this as she had the same sentiment. This film is about the acceptance that trans individuals look for through their loved ones. Many of them don’t get it, but I was fortunate to have a family who cares for me no matter what, and for that this deep dive into this crazy fucked up yet endearing french body horror film goes to them.
The Rating
