Alpha
Director: Julia Ducournau
Writer: Julia Ducournau
Cast: Mélissa Boros, Tahar Rahim, Golshifteh Farahani, Emma Mackey, Finnegan Oldfield, Louai El Amrousy
Seen on: 18.4.2026

Plot:
Alpha (Mélissa Boros) is 13 years old and lives with her single mother (Golshifteh Farahani), a doctor who works a lot. When Alpha goes out to party and returns with a tattoo, her entire world starts to change. While her mother tries to keep calm and test Alpha for a mysterious disease, word gets out in school and Alpha is shunned. At the same time, her uncle Amin (Tahar Rahim) suddenly moves in with her and her mother and tries to kick his heroin habit, further upending Alpha’s life.

Alpha is the kind of film that can not always be understood rationally, but is intensely emotional. It is one of the films that I couldn’t think or talk about straight away, rather having to stew in my reaction for a little while until I came to an opinion. It is the kind of film that stays with you, and I found it deeply impressive.

Alpha is quite obviously a take on the HIV/Aids crisis of the 80s and 90s, but it is not particularly interested in the illness itself (though its fantastic take on the virus is strikingly visual), much rather in the lasting effects that this kind of trauma has on a family. It is also not interested in queerness, even though – as we all know – it was overwhelmingly queer people, especially gay men, who bore the brunt of the virus in the beginning. There is a nod to that fact, but it feels a little perfunctory. This is probably my biggest gripe with the film.

The narrative isn’t linear, past and present blur into one – much like it does with trauma, and Ducournau finds many ways to bring the different timelines together. To explain how she does that exactly would be a bit of a spoiler. It is certainly often confusing especially when you don’t realize that she is blurring timelines. But I thought that this confusion was a big part of what made the film so powerful.

Boros, Farahani and Rahim are absolutely fantastic in their roles. Their performances are stunning, each in their own way. The connection between the characters feel completely real and the way they relate to each other feels lived-in, to say the least. That Boros can hold her own between those two seasoned actors is especially amazing.

Visually, narratively and from what it asks of its audience, Alpha is probably Ducournau’s most ambitious and challenging film yet. Given that her other films weren’t exactly easy viewing, that is saying something. I can understand if you don’t want to confront yourself with a dose of seemingly impenetrable trauma, but I found it very rewarding to do just that.

Summarizing: excellent.