Titane Is Now Streaming On Hulu, So Don't Be Like The Oscars And Ignore This One
We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a vital public service announcement: Julia Ducournau's "Titane" is now streaming on Hulu. The French filmmaker's follow-up to her critically-acclaimed 2016 feature debut, "Raw," won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and earned rave reviews, yet somehow failed to make the shortlist of potential nominees for the Best International Feature Film prize at the 94th annual Academy Awards (despite being France's entry for the category). But just because the Oscars are ignoring this one doesn't mean you should.
For the uninitiated: "Titane" stars Agathe Rousselle (making one heck of an entrance with her feature film acting debut) as Alexia, a young woman who was in a vehicular accident as a child and had to get a titanium plate fitted into her head. She now works as an erotic dancer at motor shows and has a sexual attraction to cars, along with ... other desires. Look, the less you know about "Titane" going in, the wilder and weirder the ride is (pun partly intended), and I don't want to spoil too much for those who've never seen it before.
To put it another way: If you're a fan of go-for-broke body horror films like "Malignant" (which we here at /Film are gunning to make Twitter's fan-favorite movie pick at the Oscars), then you should definitely check out "Titane." And even if you're not, you should do it anyway. You might even learn some — ahem — new things about yourself.
Don't forget to give the Best International Feature Film nominees a shot, either
In case you missed it, Ducournau previously talked about the challenges of writing "Titane" after her breakout success with "Raw," explaining:
"When it's your first feature, no one expects anything, because no one even knows you exist. So this is something that I struggled with very much I also struggled with my own expectations. As far as my second film was concerned, I felt that I had given everything I had to 'Raw' and I was afraid that I didn't have anything else to give to another film, and especially love. And so that was something that took a long time to find in me."
Of course, none of this is meant to discourage you from watching the five movies that are in the running for the Best International Feature Film Oscar this year, all of which are equally worthy of your time. Their ranks include Jonas Poher Rasmussen's animated documentary "Flee" (which you can stream on Hulu and rent on Vudu for $5.99), as well as Paolo Sorrentino's semi-autobiographical drama "The Hand of God" (now streaming on Netflix), Pawo Choyning Dorji's drama "Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom," Joachim Trier's dramedy "The Worst Person in the World," and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's drama "Drive My Car." The latter three films are only playing in U.S. theaters for the time being, although "Drive My Car" is now confirmed to begin streaming on HBO Max starting March 2, 2022.
In the meantime, be sure and give "Titane" a look on Hulu — and while you're there, also check out the Nicolas Cage-led drama "Pig" (which was similarly ignored by the Academy this year).