We closed our in-venue covering of the 40th Cambridge Film Festival with its last day showing of Titane. 

There was an overwhelming amount of hype going into this one. Julia Ducournau’s  2016 Raw was such a fresh take on the horror/ coming of age hybrid that it immediately cemented Julia Ducournau as a bold filmmaker to watch. When Titane picked up the Palme D’or at this year’s Cannes, our anticipation went through the roof. 

It’s been widely said that it’s important to go into this with as little knowledge as possible to gain full enjoyment from a film that manages to consistently surprise. That being said, there have been enough images teased going in that it’s hard not to see where the comparisons to David Cronenberg’s themes of body horror and deviant sexual desire come from. 

While some connections can be made, in particular to Cronenberg’s controversial Crash from 1996, one of the biggest compliments you can pay Ducournau is that by the end of the film you will not be comparing her to other auteurs but instead pronouncing the arrival of one of the most exciting voices in contemporary cinema. To what extent you appreciate Titane is not certain, it won’t be for everyone, but there can be no question of its cinematic power. There is nothing quite like it.

Titane will be released by Altitude Films on 31st December