Aahana Swrup
In Jérémie Rozan’s feature film directorial debut, Netflix’s French comedy–drama film, ‘Gold Brick,’ protagonist Daniel Sauveur goes up against the wealthiest family in town, The Breuils. After resorting to employment in their company, Breuil & Sons (Breuil & Fils in the original French), Daniel devises a scheme to sneak luxury products from their warehouse and sell them for a discount on the black market. As the film progresses, Daniel’s scam grows and robs millions in profit from the company before Daniel inevitably runs into trouble with the owner, Patrick Breuil.
Breuil & Sons form a crucial center in the film’s narrative, informing every character’s motives and storylines. Due to the significant role, it plays in the movie and its position as a global Parisian luxury product distributor, viewers might be wondering about the company’s origin. Therefore, if you’re curious to know about Breuil & Sons’ connection to real-life, here is everything we know about it.
Breuil & Sons is Not Real
Breuil & Sons is not based on a real company. Although a real-life company named Ets Breuil & Fils exists, it isn’t connected to ‘Gold Brick’s’ Breuil & Sons. Though France based, unlike the film’s company, Ets Breuil & Fils is a metal recycling company in Caen. Instead, like the film itself, Breuil & Sons is also a work of fiction created by director/writer Jérémie Rozan. The company, an entirely fictionalized one, is only fabricated for the purpose of the film and shapes some of the most prominent themes within the narrative.
Revolving around themes of class disparity, ‘Gold Brick’ visibly critiques capitalism and focuses on the concept of generational wealth and the unfair advantages it offers. Breuil & Sons, as a lucrative business, passed down through generations, works as a symbol of the same. The company’s owner Patrick, similar to Daniel in age and accomplishments, gets to have a bright, promising future simply because of his lineage. This fact largely fuels Daniel’s hatred for the company and acts as his driving motive throughout the film. As such, Breuil & Sons represents several real-life ideas to strengthen the characters and the narrative.
Nevertheless, the company itself does not have a basis in reality. The film even goes as far as to create a fictional American luxury brand, Colin Brown, as a Breuil & Sons’ client to cement the company’s invented nature. Colin Brown, depicted as the brand with black and white ads of men and women dancing, is likely a reference to the real-life brand Paco Rabanne, which has several similar infamous commercials.
Likewise, the primary fragrance that Breuil & Sons seems to produce, Colin Browns’s Gold fragrance, could be inspired by Paco Rabanne’s men’s fragrance line “1 Million.” Although the film never makes a direct reference to Paco Rabanne, the familiarity between Breuil & Sons’ top client and the former effortlessly reminds viewers of real life.
The same helps Breuil & Sons remain grounded in reality regardless of its fictional origins. Created only for world-building within ‘Gold Brick’s’ contemporary narrative, Breuil & Sons reflects reality by representing certain concepts and ideas. Ultimately, the company still does not have a firm basis in real life.
Read More: Gold Brick Ending, Explained: Does Daniel Beat Breuil & Sons?
