Thirteen-year-old Alpha is a restless teenager who lives alone with her mother, an overworked doctor who battles daily against a disturbing epidemic of a blood-borne disease. There is a lot of paranoia and fear: no one talks about the disease, but everyone is terrified of it. When Alpha comes home from a party with a mysterious tattoo, her mother is extremely worried. Because maybe a dirty needle has infected Alpha with the deadly virus.

Commentary

Four years ago, Julia Ducournau (Grave, Titane) became only the second woman in the history of the Cannes Film Festival to win the Palme d'Or. Her new film once again focuses on a young woman undergoing a radical transition, this time in the 1980s and 1990s, against the backdrop of a world ravaged by a highly contagious disease. Although it is a fictional epidemic, the references to AIDS are clearly palpable, especially in the way the disease stigmatizes people and has a huge impact on society. The result is a strange and disturbing film that evokes mixed reactions but inevitably provokes thought. Visually, the film makes unusual choices, with nostalgic, warm colors for the past and a cold, colorless present, symbolizing a society infected by fear.