A plague brings society to its knees in heady French import ‘Alpha’

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Julia Ducournau often portrays characters whose lives are in crisis, and her latest film takes that idea to a larger scale. It imagines a society threatened by a deadly plague, with rising deaths and widespread panic. While ‘Alpha’ is a family story rich in symbolism and less focused on personal relationships than her earlier work, it strongly suggests a world on the brink of collapse.

Mélissa Boros, a rising star, stars as Alpha, a 13-year-old girl raised by her doctor mother (Golshifteh Farahani). While the film doesn’t state the exact time period, clues like older televisions and the lack of cell phones suggest the story takes place in the 1990s. We also see flashbacks that reveal events from eight years earlier.

At a party, Alpha wakes up to discover she has a small “A” tattooed on her arm – a reckless decision from her youth. Her mom is especially upset, fearing the tattoo was applied with an unsanitary needle. This is because, in this version of the past, a deadly bloodborne virus called the Red Wind has been spreading for roughly ten years.

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Kristen Stewart’s first time directing a film wasn’t well-received, but Mubi, the company releasing ‘The Substance,’ has already acquired ‘Die, My Love,’ which stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson.

The film “Alpha” clearly draws a parallel to the AIDS epidemic, particularly in how its gay characters are unfairly blamed for getting the virus. However, the director adds a unique and unsettling element: those infected develop a silvery rash and slowly turn into statue-like figures as they succumb to the illness. The main character’s mother, a hospital worker desperately trying to help these patients, is terrified of her own child contracting the disease.

While Alpha anxiously awaits her blood test results, a thin and nervous man unexpectedly shows up at her apartment. He introduces himself as Amin, her mother’s brother, but Alpha doesn’t remember ever meeting him as a child. The needle marks on his arms reveal a long struggle with heroin addiction, but his sister is committed to helping him recover, despite the added strain it places on their already busy mother.

Julia Ducournau first gained attention with her shocking and unique films: the indie horror “Raw” (2016), about a vegetarian who turns to cannibalism, and the 2021 Palme d’Or winner, “Titane,” a bizarre and unsettling exploration of grief, gender, and identity. Her new film, “Alpha,” continues her interest in stories about growing up, and how easily our bodies and selves can change. However, while her earlier films balanced disturbing content with moments of genuine emotion, this latest effort is notably more somber – and unfortunately, not as strong as her previous work.

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Alpha Boros is deeply insecure and often comes across as rude, which makes her a social outcast at school. This is made worse by occasional bleeding from a poorly done tattoo or from where she gets blood tests. A particularly embarrassing incident at a pool, where her classmates are disgusted, recalls the famous scene in “Carrie.” The director uses this to represent the painful experiences of growing up, like starting menstruation. However, Alpha feels more like a simple representation of teenage awkwardness than a fully developed character.

To convincingly portray Amin, Rahim lost around 40 pounds, becoming incredibly thin and tense, fully embodying a person driven by addiction. Flashbacks, featuring Ambrine Trigo-Ouaked as young Amin, show moments of warmth with his niece, but Rahim powerfully conveys that Amin’s overwhelming addiction is his strongest attachment. The film also reveals that Amin shares the same struggles as others in the family – a detail subtly presented, as many scenes blend timelines. This deliberate mixing of past and present emphasizes how this family has faced seemingly endless hardship, to the point where they’ve lost track of a time when life wasn’t so difficult.

Despite strong work from Golshifteh Farahani, who plays a dedicated doctor, mother, and sister with admirable strength, the film “Alpha” ultimately feels weighed down by its own complicated story. While the non-linear narrative initially piques interest, it becomes more of a stylistic choice than a meaningful element, culminating in a predictable twist that reveals the reason for its complexity.

While the film visually portrays the disease’s effects in a compelling way, it comes across as overly stylized and even condescending, failing to fully convey the true suffering of the AIDS and COVID pandemics. The director aims to show how fear can spread like a disease, a lesson already painfully familiar to those who lived through those times. The film concludes with a striking, dreamlike image that captures the collective sadness and emotional toll of recent years. However, this powerful moment feels disconnected from the characters, who once again seem overshadowed by the director’s ambitious vision.

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2026-03-27 00:31