Here’s our first look at Julia Ducournau’s “Alpha.”
Last night, it looked like “Alpha” might actually miss Cannes competition and instead be relegated to one of the sidebars. What I’m hearing about this “utterly divisive” film isn’t necessarily concerning, but more about how it completely polarized the selection committee. They didn’t know what to do with it.
Last night, the fate of Ducournau’s film had still not been decided; it had actually been offered a slot as the opening night film, but Ducournau refused. She wanted competition. Fair warning to her, and since she’s coming off a Palme d’Or win, Cannes ended up giving the filmmaker what she wanted.
Distributed by Neon, “Alpha” stars Golshifteh Farahani (“Paterson”) as well as César award-winning Tahar Rahim (“A Prophet”). Ducournau is coming off her Palme-winning “Titane.” All bets are off when it comes to this one.
Described as Ducournau’s “most personal and profound work yet,” “Alpha” is set in the ‘80s and tackles 11-year-old girl Alpha, a girl who lives in a fictional city inspired by New York. As the AIDS epidemic unfolds worldwide, one of her parents falls ill, forcing her to confront loss and her own mortality for the first time.
It’s been three years since “Titane,” which resulted in a passionately polarized response at Cannes 2021, but somehow managed to convince the Spike Lee-led jury to honor it with the Palme d’Or. Even the Telluride Film Festival rejected the film. I dug its midnight movie vibes. It’s also well worth checking out Ducournau’s first feature, 2017’s “Raw.”