Alpha, by Julia Ducournau, is a body horror coming-of-age film centered on a deadly epidemic. Contracting the disease meant turning into a marble sculpture and eventually dying. Patients transformed into almost living tombstones, helplessly awaiting the moment they would turn to dust.
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The sick were ostracized and met with looks of contempt if they went outside, and perhaps only a few, like 13-year-old Alpha, felt a fascination with the living sculptures. As a child, Alpha wasn't frightened by the needle marks on her uncle's body; instead, she used them to create a pattern.
Director: Julia Ducournau
Writer: Julia Ducournau
Stars: Tahar Rahim, Golshifteh Farahani, Mélissa Boros
Alpha was someone who found beauty in the unexpected. What began as a teenager trying to cope with prejudice against the sick soon takes a "dream within a dream" turn.
At a house party, a stranger gave Alpha a tattoo. She barely remembered the event and didn't even know if the needle used was clean or used. While the film doesn't delve into the specifics of the disease, it's established early on that it's primarily transmitted through bodily fluids, via unprotected sex, sharing needles, etc. Alpha's mother, a doctor specializing in this unknown disease, was horrified to see the tattoo on her daughter's arm.
She was determined to have her tested immediately, and for the time being, she was given a tetanus shot. At school, when Alpha started bleeding from her arm, her classmates reacted aggressively. They immediately isolated her and refused to share the same space with her.
They asked her to stand aside during gym class after she bled again, and later her classmates threatened her not to get into the pool with them.
Alpha was frustrated. She refused to be confined to her small room, but living outside had also become a challenge. At first, she tried to remain calm, but as time went on, and as the aggression towards her worsened, she also began to lash out. She realized that the people around her were afraid of her, so she decided to spit at them if they dared to cross her path.
After she got into the swimming pool, her classmates chased her. She was afraid of drowning, so she kept looking back, and in the process, she ended up hitting her head and bleeding again. School authorities didn't think it was safe for Alpha to be around. They insinuated that she was spreading panic throughout the school. Even though Alpha was tested and the result was negative, the fear was so deeply ingrained that no test was enough.
The panic surrounding the disease and the widespread ostracism of those afflicted are reminiscent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, highlighting the pervasive homophobia and isolation of addicts. Julia Ducournau reimagines how the disease consumed people's lives, turning them into pale, fragile sculptures.
One day, when Alpha returned home, she found a man in her apartment. She was terrified and grabbed a knife. The man claimed to be her uncle, whom she had apparently known as a child. Alpha doubted his claim and waited for her mother to arrive. Alpha's mother was surprised that she didn't remember her uncle, and soon confirmed that Amin would be staying in Alpha's room.
Amin was an addict who had contracted the disease, and Alpha's mother had decided to take care of him. At first, Alpha was reluctant to befriend Amin, but over time, she began to feel compassion for him. Alpha's mother refused to let her daughter leave her room unless she was absolutely certain that she hadn't contracted the disease. Although Alpha's test results and physical condition indicated that she was healthy, her mother wasn't entirely convinced. Since there was no cure, she decided to smear some of Alpha's blood on a cut on her finger. She wanted to make sure that if anything happened to her daughter, she would also suffer the same fate.
Now, Alpha moves back and forth between the present and past timelines. It gradually becomes clear that the present revolved around Alpha and the past around Amin. In both timelines, the mother plays a crucial role as caregiver. Towards the end of the film, one might assume that Amin was not physically present in the current timeline. His presence manifests itself in the form of a memory, and Alpha tries to understand it. Amin appeared in their apartment shortly after the panic over Alpha's health began. Therefore, his presence hinted at the fear her mother carried with her.
She had lost Amin years ago, and when she discovered that Alpha might also have contracted the disease, her fear resurfaced. Alpha was a young child when Amin lived with them, and only after experiencing what it meant to be sick in the world they lived in did she begin to understand everything she had witnessed when her uncle was around. The agony of watching her brother suffer and die was not something her mother was willing to experience again, and that was the sole reason she decided to smear her wound with Alpha's blood. We gradually discover that Alpha had witnessed Amin's suicide attempt, and the shared trauma between Alpha and her mother becomes central to the story.
Alpha was too young when her uncle lived with her. She couldn't understand what he was going through, and by merging the two timelines, it's almost as if Alpha (at 13 years old) coexists with her uncle. The fact that Amin didn't age a day from the past timeline suggests that it was his memory that was introduced into the present timeline and not his actual physical being. The warm-toned scenes are indicative of the past (Amin was alive at that time, therefore, visually the past was more colorful and hopeful, while in the present timeline, that is, after the traumatic incident, the color palette is in cool tones), and towards the end, it is suggested that Amin was admitted to the hospital where Alpha's mother worked. He, too, had turned to stone, and his last days were spent in extreme agony. Amin had wanted to commit suicide with an overdose before things got worse, but Alpha's mother refused to watch her brother die in silence.
Alpha was a young girl when Amin tried to escape. Alpha had accompanied Amin and had seen him go to underground clubs where the sick weren't ostracized and could live a little before they died. Amin found it impossible to live with the constant pain and fear, and he planned to get high and live life to the fullest before killing himself. The first scene where Alpha is seen drawing a pattern on Amin's arm is from the day he ran away. He had checked into a hotel and was about to carry out his plan when Alpha's mother burst into the room.
She was furious to discover that Amin had decided to commit suicide while Alpha was with him. She couldn't imagine how traumatic the situation would have been for Alpha. Amin explained that the pain had become unbearable and that he no longer wanted to live. He refused to listen to his sister and was ready to inject himself with drugs. But the constant tremors prevented him. Seeing Amin struggling, she offered to help him. Although it was devastating for her, she decided to inject him with the liquid because for a moment, all she wanted was to see him at peace.
In Alpha's ending, Amin finally rested in peace, and his sister embraced him. But as soon as she realized she would lose her brother forever, she performed CPR and injected him with a drug that brought him out of the coma. Alpha remembered that Amin had begged her not to wake him if he ever fell asleep, so when she saw her mother trying to revive Amin by force, she tried to stop her. But her mother refused to listen and brought Amin back to life against his will.
Alpha emphasizes the caregiver's attachment; although they are aware of the unbearable pain the patient is suffering, they sometimes fail to be completely selfless. Alpha's mother deeply loved Amin, to the point that her life had become an extension of his. She couldn't imagine being separated from him, even though she knew it would only mean more pain and suffering for him. She refused to give up; perhaps she hoped that a cure would soon be found and she wouldn't have to live with the terrible pain of losing her beloved brother. But, unfortunately, that didn't happen, and Amin's life only worsened over time.
He ended up bedridden, slowly wasting away and waiting for his life to end. Amin knew his sister loved him deeply, but he couldn't go on for her sake anymore. He begged her not to wake him again. When his heart stopped beating, Alpha's mother's instinct was to perform CPR, but she ultimately chose to restrain herself and accept her brother's death. Alpha was just a child when she witnessed her uncle's suffering and the impact his presence had on her mother. When she suspected that Alpha might also have contracted the disease, her mother's anxiety and trauma resurfaced.
It was almost as if they were reliving their time with Amin, which prevented them from moving on with their lives. She knew Alpha wasn't sick, but fear overwhelmed her. Alpha stated that "he can't stay with us anymore," emphasizing that it was time for them, especially her mother, to take a step towards healing from the loss instead of sinking into melancholy. Perhaps Alpha wished she had said the same thing to her mother when she decided to resuscitate Amin against his will. She wished she had hugged and comforted her, since her mother had no one else to lean on. But perhaps her mother would have made the same decisions anyway.
She was also young at the time and didn't know what else to do. As time and space merged, a storm broke out. Alpha watched as the present version of her mother took her brother's hand as they walked into the storm, perhaps suggesting that even if she knew what the future held for her and her brother, she would still make the same choices.
She would relive the pain of losing him again and again just to be with him, even for a brief moment. The earth had become a graveyard; human beings, once sculpted in marble, had turned to dust that resonated with their silent suffering and agony.
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