Raw is the kind of movie that is very interesting to witness. I use the word witness rather than watch since it is very… Creepy and offputting, but too bizarre to look away from. French filmmakers are on a whole another level!
Coming from a very sheltered life into a high-performing university is a daunting thing. But what I also some very extreme hazing as part of the initiation? So extreme in fact that you not only challenge your veganism but also very quickly everything else about yourself? Well, Raw is the story about a girl that blossoms into something very extreme and in some ways beautiful in the most grotesque of ways.
This movie goes hard but rather slow. It’s a slow build that when revved up it goes 1000mph! It explores things such as sexuality, fitting in, transformation, morbidity, and other normal stuff such as meat-eating. The characters have depth and the acting is very good. The music is orchestral and somehow feels very fitting. Every scene is framed beautifully, even the morbid ones are very beautiful in their own right. Some of the gore is more implied rather than shown which I feel is a missed opportunity, especially when you are representing the descent into a maddened state. The symbolism is good albeit a bit all over the place. It’s hard to describe the film other than that it feels very French theatre at times.
Raw is the kind of movie you don’t watch with a full stomach. You watch it with an open mind, a sense of morbid curiosity, and with a good discussion partner. This is among the best movies thus far in Spooktober. It feels very rewarding to have branched outside of the now rather dull Americas and Japan. World movies put a fresh spin on a very hit-or-miss genre. Raw does this extremely well! Thoroughly recommend!
