Les 2 Alfred or French Tech is a French film written and directed by Bruno Podalydès. It starred the director’s brother, Denis Podalydès as a main cast, Sandrine Kiberlain and the director himself, who plays as a supporting character for Denis.
It sounds too good to be true when one is offered a job at a high-tech startup company where you can name any salary rate to your employer. But there is a catch in the company’s policy, to always be readily available around the clock and a strict no-child policy. Meet Alexandre (played by Denise Podalydès), an almost retired father who needs to prove to his wife, who is away for a government job for at least two months, that he is capable of taking care of their two children. Alexandre eventually found a job at The Box, a startup company that has lucrative perks except for its strict no-children policy to ensure the company’s efficiency.
Les Deux Alfred (2020) is a French movie title that is actually named after two cuddly monkey toys that Alexandre often brings along throughout the film in the presence of his kids. However, its alternative English title, French Tech, may sound like it is another futuristic French technology genre, but the movie shows nothing of it. In an interview with Ilona Morison, the French Film Festival UK co-director, Bruno initially wanted to name the film, Win-Win as its English title because of an app with the same name that was showcased throughout the film. However, he decided to change that title to French Tech instead, which loses its original French subtle humour meaning that was supposed to feature the two Alfred dolls.
Alexandre tries his best to adapt to a young, vibrant company culture while hiding his paternity status from his supervisor, Severine (Sandrine Kiberlain) to avoid facing the unemployment office again. On some occasions, Alexandre uses various creative techniques to hide his children from Zoom meetings and work parties with the help of his new friend, Acrimboldo (Bruno Podalydès) whom he met along the way.
The two Podalydès brothers wrote a script that brought the innocent gags of parenting into the modern corporate world setting based on their parental experiences. This is not their first scriptwriting collaboration together as notable in other films such as Liberté-Oléron (2001) and Granny’s Funeral (2012), which both the films’ genre ís comedy. Bruno notes that it has become a rising concern for every parent to balance between the availability at a company and childcare needs since the peak Covid-19 period as new technology emerges to ease workflow efficiency.
There were random drones that appeared subtly at first in a few scenes but soon became more apparent, making the whole scene pause. Perhaps it is one of Bruno’s gentle reminders to the audience that society often needs to take a break from the ultra connectivity with the internet that takes our attention away from our daily activities or else we would become like mindless drones. Many acronyms were used throughout the film’s dialogues. The meaningless acronym usage can be pointed out that it is not far from our reality where Internet slang is being used on social media trends these days.
While it may seem that Bruno is against new technologies, that may not be the case as he replied in an interview with a French film magazine, Premiere, “I am wary of resistance to change – I am not one of those who shy away from innovation – but I am not a yes-man who jumps for joy at the arrival of 5G. I have always noted each technological arrival in a notebook. I try to measure what it will bring us and what it will take away from us. It’s a comedy screenwriter’s reflex: each time a new technology arrives, it creates its share of burlesque situations.”
The film was one of the Cannes Film Festival 2020 official selections before it was cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreak. To say Les Deux Alfred is a pure comedic film genre is an understatement because Bruno was attentive to every little detail’s significance in the film while balancing its satirical message. Having technology integrated with work seems to prove the company’s efficiency and makes our lives easier, we must not be too reliant until we lose touch with living.
As a writer, actor and director for this film, Bruno Podalydès has a keen mind to turn ordinary situations into humorous scenes together with his brother, Denis Podalydès. One such scene is when Alexandre was asked during an interview with Aymeric (Yann Frisch), CEO of The Box, how he foresees himself in 10 years as a retired manager, Alexandre replied, “Yes, but my retirement will be even more dynamic than my professional life!”
Les Deux Alfred is still a comedy at its core and portrays fatherhood in the world of modern living. Seeing the Podalydès brothers acting dynamic is such a delightful watch as both of their presences made the scene vibrant. It is a high recommendation to watch even if it is just for viewers to enjoy a French light-hearted comedy film for the first time.
Fusuki Writes... 
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