There’s nothing like a good crime caper, and Netflix’s French film Gold Brick is one. While the story is not true, the original tale has been deemed relatable to similar crimes in France. Originally titled Cash, writer, and director Jérémie Rozan’s script is darkly comic while exploring class themes that are staples of the genre.
Those are social inequality, rebellion, justice, and power dynamics between the wealthy and working class. Rozan has experience with these types of stories, having written and directed the eight-episode French series La Révolution. Like Gold Brick, the filmmaker displays an eye for stunning visuals and entertaining storytelling with power dynamics between social classes.
Why would audiences believe Gold Brick is based on a true story?
Gold Brick is not based on a true story. The story is an original tale from the French writer and director Jérémie Rozan. Many may assume this film is based on actual events because of a rash of perfume robberies in France.
In 2013, several articles can be found (with aptly titled headlines, “Police are sniffing out perfume thieves.”) on the subject. As the story goes, perfume was stolen from high-end perfume factories and stolen from delivery trucks. The spate of robberies then had thousands of bottles turn up on the black market right before the holidays.
Fans claiming the movie is based on actual events may confuse it with the infamous true crime tales involving perfume and France. For instance, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the subject of Netflix’s The Perfumier, and the Dustin Hoffman film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer may come to people’s minds, but they are entirely different stories and settings than Gold Brick.
Also, the perfume factory in Gold Brick, called Breuil & Sons, is similar to a well-known recycling plant in France called “Ets Breuil & Fils.”
Ets Breuil & Fils Recycling Factory (Credit – ets-breuil.fr)
What is Gold Brick on Netflix about?
Gold Brick is a French crime caper about an employee stealing products from his factory. According to the official Netflix synopsis, Gold Brick’s story centers around the main character, Daniel Sauveur (Raphaël Quenard), who is:
“Determined to even the scales and profit from his thankless job, a factory worker schemes to traffic luxury perfumes from under his employer’s nose.”
However, if you are looking for a more detailed storyline of the film, look no further than IMDB, which says:
“In Chartres, the Breuil family, at the helm of a major perfume group, reigns over the city from generation to generation. Still in Chartres, but light-years away from this world of luxury, Daniel Sauveur can no longer bear the Breuil’s ostentatious wealth and resorts to petty schemes to get by. When the project he planned with his childhood friend is sabotaged by the group, he has only one thing on his mind: revenge. He manages to get hired at the family factory and convinces his colleagues to steal a portion of the stock. With the same objective in mind: to bring down the most powerful dynasty in town.”
