This film is part of Rentals
Titane
Agathe Rousselle makes a ferocious debut as a killer on the run, in Julia Ducournau’s electrifying techno-chiller and Palme d'Or winner.
Director: Julia Ducournau
Overview
One of the most provocative Palme d’Or winners ever, and only the second for a female director, Titane is a blast of lawless inspiration. French filmmaker Ducournau dazzled with cannibal-themed debut Raw, but goes way further in her genre-shattering follow-up. Unnerving newcomer Agathe Rousselle plays Alexia, a young woman who – following an accident in her childhood – has an unusual bond with cars, consummated by a strange encounter with one of the vehicles she writhes on in her job as a motor show dancer. When her murderous tendencies make her a fugitive, she disguises herself as a boy and forms a very ambivalent bond with the chief of a firefighting unit (French A-lister Vincent Lindon, venturing way outside familiar territory).
Gender fluidity, familial subversion, techno-sexual delirium and full-on violence take Titane (French for titanium) into the far reaches of genre futurism, with Ruben Impens’ cinematography pushing a trash-pulp aesthetic to a hyper-sophisticated new level. It’s extreme-dream cinema that pulls no punches in its metallic KO.
Related
Demon Seed Demon Seed
Science Fiction 1977 94 mins Director: Donald Cammell
Visionary Scottish filmmaker Donald Cammell directs this claustrophobic ‘home-invasion’ sci-fi thriller based upon Dean Koontz’s best-selling novel.
2001: A Space Odyssey 2001: A Space Odyssey
Science Fiction 1968 149 mins Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick took science fiction cinema in a grandly intelligent new direction with this epic story of man’s quest for knowledge.
Vesper Vesper
Action and Adventure 2022 114 mins Director: Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper
In a desolate post-apocalyptic future, a young teenage survivor has to avoid scrutiny from her uncle (a menacing Eddie Marsan) and the ruthless authorities pursuing her in this dark and dangerous fairytale.
After Blue (Dirty Paradise) After Blue (Dirty Paradise)
Fantasy 2021 129 mins Director: Bertrand Mandico
A mother and daughter living in a post-apocalyptic future are sent to hunt down and kill an evil demon hell-bent on destruction.
Alphaville Alphaville
Detective drama 1965 99 mins Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard’s venture into sci-fi pits secret agent Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) on a mission to destroy the malevolent supercomputer, Alpha 60.
Executive Order Executive Order
Science Fiction 2020 102 mins Director: Lázaro Ramos
In Lázaro Ramos’s disturbing dystopian thriller starring Alfred Enoch, the Brazilian government orders the deportation of the country’s entire Black population.
Rebel Dykes Rebel Dykes
Documentary 2021 91 mins Director: Harri Shanahan and Sîan Williams
A brilliant and refreshing story of UK post-punk dyke culture, told by those who lived it.
Boiling Point Boiling Point
Drama 2020 95 mins Director: Philip Baranttini
An emotionally scarred London chef (Stephen Graham) struggles to keep it together in this formally extraordinary and beautifully acted single-take thriller.
Compartment No. 6 Compartment No. 6
Drama 2021 107 mins Director: Juho Kuosmanen
Juho Kuosmanen’s grungy train journey to Siberia, in a Finnish student’s shared sleeper carriage with a volatile Russian labourer, won the 2021 Cannes Grand Prix.
Drive My Car Drive My Car
Drama 2021 179 mins Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Inspired by Haruki Murakami’s short story, Ryūsuke Hamaguchi takes us on an unpredictable and self-revelatory journey in this serene yet riveting Oscar-winning drama.
Benediction Benediction
Drama 2020 137 mins Director: Terence Davies
Terence Davies’ moving and lyrical portrait of the life of celebrated war poet Siegfried Sassoon.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Comedy 2022 97 mins Director: Sophie Hyde
Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson), a retired schoolteacher and widow, is yearning for adventure and really good sex, in comedian Katy Brand’s BAFTA-nominated drama.
Both Sides of the Blade Both Sides of the Blade
Drama 2021 117 mins Director: Claire Denis
Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin, Claire Denis pairs Juliette Binoche with Vincent Lindon as long-term lovers whose domestic bliss is ripped apart when a figure from their past returns.
Four Daughters Four Daughters
Drama-documentary 2023 103 mins Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
The mother-daughter relationship is explored to cathartic effect in this complex and poignant hybrid documentary about a woman and her missing daughters.
Her Last Affaire Her Last Affaire
Drama 1936 68 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's 'society drama’ involving suspicion, clandestine romance and presumed murder, and glorious comic double-act from Googie Withers and John Lurie.
She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Colbert
In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.
Rynox Rynox
Crime 1932 46 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s earliest existing film is a twisty thriller crafted with a bold visual style that is unmistakeably influenced by Fritz Lang.
Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide
Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell
Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for when he inherits a hotel, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.
The Night of the Party The Night of the Party
Crime 1934 61 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s fun stage adaptation about a murder at a society party, with characterful performances from its fine ensemble cast.