Justine (Garance Marillier) is a meek vegetarian who goes
off to veterinary school to follow in the footsteps of her older sister Alexia
(Ella Rumpf). Once there, Alexia
indoctrinates her in the school’s elaborate hazing rituals for Rush Week. As part of her humiliation, Justine is forced
to eat a raw rabbit kidney. Soon after,
she breaks out into a horrible rash. Eventually,
she begins eating raw meat and develops a taste for human flesh. Things get increasingly awkward at school for
Justine after she eats her sister’s finger.
That scene is… well… let’s just say it’s finger-licking
good.
There’s more. A lot
more. There’s a disgusting scene where
our heroine pukes up a bunch of hair, a sequence in which she gets into a
literal pissing contest with her sister, a Brazilian wax that turns icky, and a
stomach-churning discussion about monkey rape.
Look, going away to college can be a scary thing, alright? Raw takes that idea to the extreme. I know college hazing can be brutal, but some
of the stuff the students are forced to do borders on the absurd. Is this the kind of shit they really do at
French veterinary schools, or is director Julia Ducournau going for some sort
of surrealistic vibe here? If she isn’t,
then French veterinarians are some of the most fucked up people on the planet.
I couldn’t really tell what Ducournau’s intentions
were. Was this supposed to be a parable
about a young woman’s burgeoning sexuality?
A warped metaphor for being a vegetarian trapped in a meat-eating
society? A representation of sibling
rivalry at its craziest? I’m not even
sure if she knew. All I know is that I
dug it. The methodical pace may
turn some off (that is, if the kidney-eating scene doesn’t), but stay with it
because has some truly unique, memorable, and unsettling moments.
AKA: Grave.
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