Daniel Sauveur, the main character in Netflix’s French comedy-drama “Gold Brick,” faces out against The Breuils, the richest family in town, in Jérémie Rozan’s feature film directorial debut. When Daniel finally decides to work for Breuil & Sons (Breuil & Fils in the original French), he comes up with a plan to steal expensive goods from their warehouse and sell them for less on the grey market. As the movie goes on, Daniel’s fraud expands and steals millions of dollars from the business before he inevitably clashes with Patrick Breuil, the owner.
With its influence on each character’s motivations and plotlines, Breuil & Sons serves as an essential narrative hub in the movie. Viewers may be curious about the company’s history given its prominent role in the film and its status as a leading distributor of luxury goods from Paris. So here is what we know about Breuil & Sons’ relationship to reality if you’re interested.
Is Breuil & Sons Real?
Breuil & Sons isn’t based on a genuine business, sorry. Although Ets Breuil & Fils is a real corporation, it is unrelated to Breuil & Sons from ‘Gold Brick’. Ets Breuil & Fils is a Caen-based metal recycling company, unlike the company from the movie, albeit being headquartered in France. Breuil & Sons, on the other hand, is also a fictional work by director/writer Jérémie Rozan. The company, which is wholly fictionalised, is only created for the benefit of the movie and helps to form some of the story’s most important ideas.
‘Gold Brick’ revolves around themes of class inequality and openly criticises capitalism. It emphasises the idea of hereditary riches and the unfair advantages it affords. As a successful company that has been handed down through the years, Breuil & Sons serves as a metaphor for the same. Patrick, the owner of the business, is comparable to Daniel in age and accomplishments, and he benefits from a bright future just because of his ancestry. This information substantially drives Daniel’s animosity towards the firm and serves as his motivational anchor for the duration of the movie. As a result, Breuil & Sons uses a number of real-life concepts to support its fictional characters and storyline.
However, there is no true basis for the business itself. To further emphasise the fake nature of Breuil & Sons, the movie even makes up the fictional American luxury brand Colin Brown as a customer. It’s likely a nod to the actual company Paco Rabanne, which has a number of infamous commercials similar to the ones Colin Brown uses in its black and white adverts of men and women dancing.
Similarly, Paco Rabanne’s “1 Million” range of men’s fragrances may have served as an inspiration for Colin Brown’s Gold, Breuil & Sons’ main scent. Although Paco Rabanne isn’t mentioned specifically in the movie, the similarities between the top client of Breuil & Sons and the former seamlessly serve to remind viewers of reality.
The same makes Breuil & Sons, despite its fantastical origins, remain rooted in reality. Breuil & Sons, a fictional company made only for the purposes of setting the scenario in the modern tale of “Gold Brick,” mimics reality by emulating certain notions and ideals. In the end, the business still lacks a solid foundation in the real world.
