Thanks to François Uzan, Alexandre Kominek has (finally) landed his first role on screen. In “Recalé,” the Geneva comedian plays a crook turned math teacher to avoid prison. This romantic-dramatic-comedic thriller has the advantage of introducing a talented compatriot into the world of French fiction.
Date Published: 23.04.2026, 12:15 Last Updated: 23.04.2026, 12:15
It’s been a long time coming. Since his early days on stage, Alexandre Kominek has always felt a bit restricted in the role of joke provider. With a body as expressive as his words, a healthy madness bursting at the seams of stand-up comedy, a need to feel, provoke, externalize, and embody something greater than himself.
A ticking time bomb disguise, like a fine wine perfecting its taste slowly. For a few months now, the 36-year-old Geneva millennial has been rising to fame.
An explosion felt from the Arena in Geneva to the Olympia in Paris. His show “Sensitive Bastard” will air on Canal+ in May, major media outlets are clamoring for him, and Netflix is rolling out the red carpet for his first leading role in a French comical-socio-romantic-police series.
In “Recalé,” directed by François Uzan, Kominek plays a crook who has no choice but to become a math teacher at a high school to avoid spending seven years in jail. It’s Inspector Lucie Laumier (Laurence Arné), willing to do anything to catch a dangerous criminal, who forces him into this infiltration of the education system. Mission? Identify the son of the villainous Sagirov before the baccalaureate exams.
Trailer: Video: youtube
Returning to school? A nightmare worse than prison for Edouard “Eddie” Martin. The indomitable troublemaker has mixed memories of the bullying he faced in his adolescence. His innate talent for numbers and a former lover will nonetheless help him integrate into his new daily life.
To quickly acquaint the global Netflix audience, “Recalé” throws in all the French clichés in the first episode. The series presents an exhausted school system, glaring inequalities, elongated abbreviations, and a cast of teachers and employees who fit every stereotype: the fascist, the woke, the conspiracy theorist, the unionist, the burnout, and the racist cleaner, all caricatured in less than ten minutes.
Fortunately, from the second episode, the dialogue softens, the absurd situations take over, and an original depth allows the series to take flight without faltering.
In the third episode, during a forced school trip to Normandy, Eddie has 24 hours to get the DNA of five students so the police can compare it to Sagirov’s. Problem: among them is (inevitably) the principal’s kid (Leslie Medina), who happens to be his childhood love.
Through original writing and direction, François Uzan manages to make police infiltration absurd and school life impressively realistic. The mischievous gaze and teasing demeanor of a crook help reveal the glaring flaws in the education system. Gradually, Eddie will encounter a world filled with mistakes, injustices, and absurdities, realizing that being a teacher is more about navigating students’ minds than imparting knowledge.
Our Swiss actor, unfamiliar with the French school system, convincingly portrays a small-time criminal discovering a new world overnight. Comfortable in his “Sensitive Bastard” and seductive persona, the Geneva comedian finally has the opportunity to unveil new facets of his talent, with a touching level of precision.
Special mention: his duo with cop Laurence Arné works wonders.
Welcome to Netflix, Alexandre Kominek.
