Why 'Raw' is the greatest debut movie of the 21st century (2025)

“So, are you your body, or is your body you?”

Matters of the body have always been entirely matter-of-fact and unglorified for Julia Ducournau. A rash is a rash, a body part merely exists to serve its function, pain (regardless of who is feeling it) is pain. With both of Ducournau’s parents working in the medical field, one as a dermatologist and the other as a gynaecologist, it’s unsurprising that Ducournau has a fascination with the many transformations and mutations of the human body. And it’s the process of metamorphosis, whether through sickness or health, that becomes the thematic focus in Ducournau’s work.

After studying screenwriting at La Fémis in Paris, Ducournau directed her first short film, Junior, the story of a young girl who begins shedding her skin after contracting a stomach bug. Even in her early work, Ducournau showed herself to be unafraid of what might be deemed as perverse and taboo, moulding a conventionally safe image to instead resemble a David Cronenberg-esque tale of puberty and adolescent anxiety, showing a side of teenage girls we don’t often see. And when Ducournau’s debut feature film Raw was revealed to be part of the program at Cannes in 2016, the world was perhaps unprepared for what followed.

Raw follows Justine, a young woman in her first year of studying veterinarian science at university, and after an initiation in which the new students have to eat raw meat, Justine develops a strange appetite. The audiences at Cannes are by no means strangers to a challenging viewing experience, but this one really took the finger. Initially screened as part of a late-night showing at the end of a particularly long day, the people in the theatre that night were entirely caught off guard by the feverish and grisly spectacle that shortly ensued.

Through her confrontational and unflinching gaze, Ducournau strips the human body to its most raw functions, a person overcome by primal instinct and an uncontrollable desire for flesh. The underbelly of the film’s messaging can be interpreted in a myriad of ways: a coming-of-age tale that acts as a commentary on the taboo nature of female sexuality, with Justine’s cannibalistic tendencies mimicking her sexual desire, mocking the perception of this as being ‘abject’.

It can also be seen as an exploration of the human condition, the deepest parts of ourselves that lie outside of our control, with Justine being overcome by the urge to destroy and consume, but ultimately, this is an expression of love. This interpretation can also be linked to the idea of self-discovery and acceptance and how, as a young woman, Justine is exploring aspects of her identity that the judgment of those around her has previously restricted, but once alone and free, she is able to let go and embrace who she really is.

Ducournau is able to take these metaphors to new heights by revelling in its visceral imagery, which, when accompanied by its inescapable and slightly torturous sound design, makes for a uniquely uncomfortable viewing experience. A simple scene of Justine scratching at a rash becomes nearly unwatchable, the same for one of Justine having a bikini wax, dialling up the intensity of these pains by showing them through suffocating close-ups and an omniscient soundscape that makes you feel as though what’s happening on screen, is happening to you.

After the first screening of Raw, it was the talk of the town. People fainted and vomited at the premiere—some loved it, some were repulsed by it. But this is exactly the kind of reaction that, for me, earns its place as the greatest debut of the 21st century; not a crowd pleaser, but something that demands to be talked about and experienced for yourself.

Ducournau followed ‘Raw’ with the much-awaited Titane, a dazzling spin on the body horror genre, which can be interpreted as a trans allegory about the confines of gender expression and the liberation of unconditional love. With her next film, Alpha, set to be released in 2025, there’s no doubt that Ducournau will continue to push audiences to the far corners of their comfort zone and create something that is both beautiful and disgusting, forcing us to wonder, are we our bodies? Or are our bodies us?

Related Topics