Titane

Julia Ducournau: Titane (2022) with Agathe Rousselle (Alexia).

Julia Ducournau: Titane (2022) with Agathe Rousselle (Alexia).

Titane / Titane
    FR/BE © 2021 Kazak Productions – Frakas Productions – ARTE France Cinéma – VOO 2020. P: Jean-Christophe Reymond.
    D+SC: Julia Ducournau. DP: Ruben Impens. PD: Laurie Colson, Lise Péault. Cost: Anne-Sophie Gledhill. SFX Makeup Artist: Olivier Afonso – CLSFX Atelier 69. Effets visuels: Martial Vallanchon – Mac Guff. Makeup: Flore Masson. Hair Stylist: Antoine Mancini. M: Jim Williams. S: Fabrice Osinski, Séverin Favriau, Stéphane Thiébaut. ED: Jean-Christophe Bouzy.
    C: Vincent Lindon (Vincent), Agathe Rousselle (Alexia), Garance Marillier (Justine), Laïs Salameh (Rayane). Featuring: Bertrand Bonello, Dominique Frot.
    Soundtrack listing includes: "The Wayfaring Stranger" ["I'm just going over Jordan..."] (US trad. folk and gospel, 1858 or earlier, Roud 3339). J. S. Bach: "Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen" from the Matthäus-Passion (1727, BWV 244), "Nessuno mi puo giudicare" (Luciano Beretta, Miky Del Prete, Mario Panzeri, Daniele Pace, 1966) perf. Caterina Caselli [this song was a hit also in Finland, as "Erehdyin kerran", Finnish lyr. Tuula Valkama, perf. Seppo Hanski 1967].
    Language: French.
    108 min
    Finnish premiere 19 Aug 2022, released by Night Visions with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Emilia Hietala / Cristina Nyqvist.
    Viewed at Finnkino Strand 3, Iso Kristiina, Lappeenranta, 19 Aug 2022.

Official synopsis:
    " Après une série de crimes inexpliqués, un père retrouve son fils disparu depuis 10 ans. "
    " Titane : Métal hautement résistant à la chaleur et à la corrosion, donnant des alliages très durs. "

AA: I have been aware of Julia Ducournau since the acclaimed Grave / Raw (2017) which I have yet to see because I have no appetite for cannibalism. Now, having seen Titane, I am a Julia Ducournau convert. Her approach is gripping and personal in the genre territory of horror / épouvante / fantastique. It is a terrain vague. Horror is about the emergence of something extraordinary into the ordinary.

I wrote in 1985 together with my brother Asko Alanen the first Finnish book on the horror film genre, called Musta peili [Dark Mirror]. An extraordinary creative period of the then most recent 25 years (from the early 1960s to the mid-1980s) was coming to an end, to be followed with decades of commercially successful but creatively uninspiring fare, consisting too frequently of sequels, remakes and gratuitous brutality. Great work kept being made, but masterpieces such as The Silence of the Lambs were few and far between.

A new wave of inspiring and original horror movies started around 2014. To its masters belong both Julia Ducournau and Jordan Peele, both of whom have stunning new films in a Finnish premiere today. A fresh and welcome aspect in this current trend is the prominence of women film directors, including the Finn Hanna Bergholm with Pahanhautoja / Hatching (2022).

My first impression of Ducournau and Titane: I recognize an engaging talent in the dream mode. When we are caught in the stream of the unconscious as powerfully as this, anything can happen, and we don't reject it, although the narrative is full of holes, mysteries and questions. Why is Alexia like that? Already as the obnoxious brat on the back seat of her father's car she is raising hell. And why does her father keep closing his eyes at the murder rampage of her daughter turned serial killer? Titane is a tale of two families, both dysfunctional, to say the least. Is there an incest subtext in both families? Or just a case of deranged love? Might the serial revenge theme in Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman (2020) provide a clue?

There is a genuine surrealist dimension in Titane, to be compared with some works by David Lynch (Eraserhead), David Cronenberg (The Brood, Crash), Leos Carax (Holy Motors) and even Charley Bowers (Egged On). The horror of motherhood evokes Rosemary's Baby, Hatching and The Omen trilogy.

Further affinities include Fritz Lang's Robot Maria (Metropolis) and other unholy creatures of the fantasy film like Alraune and The Bride of Frankenstein. Titane is a machine woman tale but not a cyberpunk movie. Body parts are being replaced with machine parts, and there are aspects of the "new flesh", but this story is not about computers and the cyberspace, not to speak of the metaverse. The play takes place in a more traditional, even atavistic, dream space.

The cast and the crew excel in all departments. The unique and powerful interpretations of Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon carry the film.

BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: TITANE PRESS KIT:
BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: TITANE PRESS KIT:

HOW DID TITANE TAKE SHAPE IN THE WRITING?
I sensed I was facing a very complex puzzle, with dense matter
that I clearly needed to simplify. But I had to be careful or I’d risk
losing the existential scope I was aiming for. It was a real balancing
act. To give TITANE its definitive shape, I honed in on the character
of Vincent [Vincent Lindon] and his fantasy: this idea that through
a lie, you can bring love and humanity to life. I wanted to make a
film that initially may seem «unlovable» because of its violence, but
then we grow deeply attached to the characters, and ultimately
we receive the film as a love story. Or rather, a story about the
«birth of love» because here, everything is a question of election.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE SEQUENCE SHOT FOLLOWING THE
TITLE THAT INTRODUCES ALEXIA [AGATHE ROUSSELLE] AS AN
ADULT?
That sequence is there to impose a certain vision – not my vision
– of Alexia, or more accurately, who others want her to be. This
vision idealizes her, forcefully iconizes and sexualizes her, makes
her obey a whole series of clichés. I see it as a decoy: we’re
exploring a surface layer that hints at the «ocean» we’re about
to plunge into, where we’ll discover a femininity with very blurry
contours. I wanted this sequence to be both extremely organic
and totally disconnected from reality. The Alexia presented to us
here does not align with the truth of the character.

TELL US ABOUT THE CASTING PROCESS THAT LED YOU TO THE
ACTRESS WHO PLAYS ALEXIA.
I knew right away she’d have to be an unknown face. As she goes
through her «mutations» I didn’t want people thinking they’re
watching the transformation of a physically familiar actress. I
mention above a «femininity with blurry contours.» I needed an
unknown to embody that. Someone the audience couldn’t project
any expectations onto. Someone they could watch transform as
the story plays out without being conscious of the artifice. So I
went straight to non-professional young women. I had a certain
androgynous physique in mind, one that could endure the various
transformational states that play out for the camera. I wanted a
face that would change with the angle of the shot. A face that
could make us believe anything. So the casting was both vast
and precise. I knew there’d be a lot of work for whoever I chose.
Not so much rehearsing lines (Alexia is practically mute) but in
the acting itself. I’d have to go digging for something inside her,
push her to places she wasn’t used to going, and obviously that
takes time. When I saw Agathe [Rousselle] for the first time at a
casting session, she really stood out. She had the right physique
and a fascinating face, but also a presence. She commanded the
screen, and that’s exactly what I wanted.

AND FOR THE CHARACTER OF VINCENT [VINCENT LINDON]?
For the character of Vincent it was far simpler: I wrote the role
for Vincent Lindon. We’ve known each other for a long time. I
wanted to film him and show him to everyone the way I see him.
His character required a range of emotions that, in my eyes, only
he is capable of: at once scary and vulnerable, childlike and dark,
deeply human yet monstrous... especially with that impressive hulk
of a body. In preparation for the role he did serious weightlifting
for a year. I wanted him beefy like an ox, reminding us of Harvey
Keitel’s massiveness in Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant. We got along
beautifully during the shoot and I’m very proud of that. Vincent
trusted me. He accepted the idea of surrendering to the character
without necessarily holding all the keys to my cinema. He was
exceptionally generous in what he gave to the role and to me. I
think I got something from him that he himself was looking for at
this stage in his career. I came along at the right time, if you will.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE MANY SPECIAL EFFECTS
IN TITANE?
The biggest challenge by far were the prosthetics Agathe [Rousselle]
had to wear. She spent long, laborious hours in makeup every
day, which was exhausting for her and stressful for us, as every
little touchup obviously takes time. The prosthetics were a central
part of our daily schedules. It’s funny, because I’ve been using
them since Junior and every time I say to myself, «Never again,
too much hassle!» Then I go right back and do it again on the
next film! (laughter) But the thing is, for actors, prosthetics are
true companions in the acting process. And they’re so organic
on screen.

WHAT INDICATIONS DID YOU GIVE YOUR DOP RUBEN IMPENS FOR
THE CINEMATOGRAPHY ON TITANE?
I o f t e n u s e d t h e w o r d « m a l f u n c t i o n » t o e v o k e t h e f i l m ’s
transformations. «Derailment» too, because the story is peppered
with machines and metal. Ruben and I worked hand in hand. We
did the shot list together, the lighting chart together, we were
practically joined at the hip on set... We started by figuring out what
machinery we’d need on the film, because we shared a frustration
from not having played on that more in RAW. And we discussed
how to do something graphic without losing the characters in the
process. When it comes to lighting, I work a lot within a cold/hot
dichotomy. TITANE is concerned with metal and fire, so the cold/
hot relationship had to be ever-present. Ruben and I wanted to
take a deep dive into contrast. We were constantly flirting with the
limit, the limit being the cartoon: one step further and we could
fall into cartoonish. We had to stay in the reality of the film. Push
the shadow/light envelope as far as we could, without getting
lost in an ultra-stylization that would suck the blood out of the
characters and the action. We focused more on pictorial references
than film references, the paintings of Caravaggio in particular. I
also showed Ruben Summer Night by Winslow Homer and THE
EMPIRE OF LIGHT series by René Magritte to give him an idea of
what I was looking for in the contrasts. I wanted light to spring
from the shadows in the same way emotion gushes after an initial
shock. I also wanted lots of colors, to break with the darkness
of the story and avoid an impression of inescapable sordidness.
For the many nude scenes, which I wanted as non-sexualized as
possible, I tried to use lighting to reinvent the skin each time. Our
work with color made it possible to bring new textures, meanings
and emotions to the skin itself.

FOR THE MUSIC YOU WORKED WITH JIM WILLIAMS AGAIN. WHAT
WERE YOUR SPECS FOR HIM?
I asked him to use percussions and bells. And I insisted on the
bells. Why? Because I absolutely wanted to incorporate metal into
the score. I wanted music that sounded metallic while still being
melodic. As with RAW, I wanted a memorable recurring theme
that would vary according to my characters’ trajectories. TITANE
goes from animal to impulsive to sacred. To help us feel that
progression, the music must also fluctuate, hybridize, transform.
We go from percussion to bells to electric guitar and sometimes
everything combined. Then voices come in, bringing a liturgical
dimension to the film. I asked Jim [Williams] to work on creating
a momentum towards the sacred. His music also needed to be
like bursts of light in the shadows.

B I O G R A P H Y
JULIA DUCOURNAU

A GRADUATE OF LA FÉMIS IN SCRIPTWRITING, JULIA DUCOURNAU GAINED
ATTENTION IN 2011 WHEN HER SHORT FILM JUNIOR WAS SELECTED AT
THE CRITICS’ WEEK IN CANNES AND WON THE AUDIENCE AWARD AT
THE FESTIVAL PREMIERS PLANS IN ANGERS. HER FIRST FEATURE RAW
CREATED A SHOCK WAVE WHEN IT WAS PRESENTED IN COMPETITION
AT THE 2016 CRITICS’ WEEK AND WON THE FIPRESCI PRIZE. THE FILM
WENT ON TO SCREEN AND WIN AWARDS AT MULTIPLE INTERNATIONAL
FESTIVALS (TORONTO, SUNDANCE, GERARDMER, SITGES) AND WAS
DISTRIBUTED WORLDWIDE. SHE RECEIVED THE 2019 GAN FONDATION
AWARD FOR HER SECOND FEATURE TITANE, WHICH HAS BEEN SELECTED
FOR THE OFFICIAL COMPETITION AT THE 2021 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL.

C A S T
VINCENT .................................................. VINCENT LINDON
ALEXIA ............................................... AGATHE ROUSSELLE
JUSTINE ............................................GARANCE MARILLIER
RAYANE ...................................................... LAÏS SALAMEH
FEATURING ........................................ BERTRAND BONELLO
DOMINIQUE FROT

C R E W
DIRECTED BY .................................................................. JULIA DUCOURNAU
WRITTEN BY .................................................................... JULIA DUCOURNAU
WITH THE SUPPORT OF .....................................................JACQUES AKCHOTI
SIMONETTA GREGGIO
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOUZY
PRODUCED BY ............................................................. KAZAK PRODUCTIONS
PRODUCER ....................................................... JEAN-CHRISTOPHE REYMOND
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER ...........................................................AMAURY OVISE
CO-PRODUCED BY ..................................................... FRAKAS PRODUCTIONS
JEAN-YVES ROUBIN
CASSANDRE WARNAUTS
ARTE FRANCE CINÉMA
VOO ET BE TV
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER ......................................................... PHILIPPE LOGIE
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ................................................. RUBEN IMPENS
ORIGINAL MUSIC ...................................................................... JIM WILLIAMS
EDITOR .................................................................JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOUZY
SOUND ............................................................................... FABRICE OSINSKI
SÉVERIN FAVRIAU
STÉPHANE THIÉBAUT
PRODUCTION DESIGNER ....................................................... LAURIE COLSON
LISE PÉAULT
COSTUMES ............................................................... ANNE-SOPHIE GLEDHILL
SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKEUP ARTIST ....... OLIVIER AFONSO - CLSFX ATELIER 69
EFFETS VISUELS ...................................... MARTIAL VALLANCHON – MAC GUFF
MAKEUP ................................................................................FLORE MASSON
HAIR STYLIST .................................................................... ANTOINE MANCINI
CASTING ............................................................................ CHRISTEL BARAS
CONSTANCE DEMONTOY-ARDA
SCRIPT SUPERVISOR ......................................... BÉNÉDICTE KERMADEC - LSA
FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR .................................... CLAIRE CORBETTA-DOLL
PRODUCTION MANAGER ................................................... TATIANA BOUCHAIN
POST-PRODUCTION DIRECTORS ................................... CHRISTINA CRASSARIS
SIDONIE WASERMAN
GENERAL MANAGER .............................................................JULIEN LINIÈRES
WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF ........................................................... CANAL +
CINÉ +
ARTE FRANCE
FILM4
WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL
DIAPHANA
WITH THE SUPPORT OF ........................................................................... CNC
EURIMAGES
LE CENTRE DU CINÉMA ET DE L’AUDIOVISUEL DE LA FÉDÉRATION WALLONIE BRUXELLES
CREATIVE EUROPE MEDIA OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
WITH THE SUPPORT OF ......................... LA FONDATION GAN POUR LE CINÉMA
LA RÉGION PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR, EN PARTENARIAT AVEC LE CNC
LE PAYS DE MARTIGUES - MÉTROPOLE AIX-MARSEILLE-PROVENCE
LA RÉGION ILE-DE-FRANCE, EN PARTENARIAT AVEC LE CNC
IN ASSOCIATION WITH ............................................................. CINÉMAGE 15
COFINOVA 17
LE TAX SHELTER DU GOUVERNEMENT FÉDÉRAL BELGE
INVER TAX SHELTER
INTERNATIONAL SALES ..................................... WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL
© KAZAK PRODUCTIONS – FRAKAS PRODUCTIONS – ARTE FRANCE CINEMA – VOO 2020