Alice or The Last Escapade

Alice Carol (Sylvia Kristel) leaves her husband (Bernard Rousselet) in a rainy night telling that she does not like him anymore. She travels alone but when her car breaks the windshield in a lonely road, she crosses the gate of a creepy manor and is welcomed by the owner Henri Vergennes (Charles Vanel) and his butler Colas (Jean Carmet) that invite Alice to spend the night in the house. On the next morning, Alice does not meet the two men and finds the windshield of her car surprisingly fixed. She tries to leave the real estate but does not find the gate. She stops the car and walks around the wall trying to find an exit. Soon she finds that she is trapped and cannot leave the property.

"Alice ou la Dernière Fugue" is an intriguing unknown masterpiece written and directed by Claude Charbrol and supported basically by the wonderful performance of the gorgeous Sylvia Kristel. The story is developed in a nightmarish atmosphere and the name of the lead character "Alice Carol" seems to be a tribute to "Alice in the Wonderland" of Lewis Carroll. Further, Adrian Lyne's "Jacob's Ladder" is visibly inspired in the storyline of this film. The mystery is kept until the very last scene. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Alice"

Note: On 17 November 2024, I saw this film again.

Saw this by chance late one evening.

Was attracted by the ambiance, which I found very Tarkovsky-esque, before I was attracted by Sylvia Kristel (she was not on screen during the first minutes I saw ;-)

Was surprised to see her act. Really loved the pace and the suspense. Found the conclusion wonderful, though-provoking, unexpected.

In my view this is clearly in the top 10 percent of Chabrol's production. I don't understand why this film is not well-known - maybe because it has an ex-erotic film actress in it?

A very good surprise.

I stumbled upon Alice and was drawn in by the blurb of young woman, Alice Caroll (Sylvia Krystel), who leaves her husband one dark and stormy night to enter a world other than what we know.

So, after leaving her husband, Alice is driving through a rain storm when her windshield cracks and she needs to pull over. Where else does this happen but at some derelict, spooky chateau in the French countryside. An old man and his servant take Alice in, let her dry off, feed her and giver her a room for the night. The next morning, no one is around yet her car is fixed. Alice leaves - but she can't. And thus, Alice's strange journey entrapped in this mysterious chateau begins.

First, Alice is a French film so you get the much more subtle play of Alice's sense of entrapment rather than an American film where they would hit you over the head with her terror and the nightmare she entered. The movie plays out slow - and at times boring - and it does resolve itself, which I won't give away, in a somewhat expected yet unsatisfactory manner.

Alice will be far from appealing to everyone's taste, yet it is enjoyable and thought provoking to watch, especially if French films are your interest.

Surprising movie! A twist in the end! I like such movies, when the viewer is fooled ...when what we thought we understood is overturned! Reminds me of something from 'The Sixth Sense'. Do you agree? I didn't like the the acting of Silvia Kristel in a few sequences, as she seemed to be making some effort to speak. In the first shots with her husband, she acted strangely as she didn't seem distressed at all when announcing the latter that she would leave him. There was no visible stress on her face and she appeared relaxed when communicating her departure. The husband also acted strangely when he told her to stay one more night and to leave tomorrow morning! No one would have realistically said that! didn't like a few shots as well...For instance, some night shots in the beginning were not properly lit. But, it remains a movie with a great script, with minimal dialog, with each shot compelling us to ask...'what will happen next?'. The characters were all weird - and later we can deduce why...

A brilliant movie. I liked it because all the time everything seemed so possible, but strange until the very end where you're shocked finding out what was really going on. It gets you to think about so many things related to life, dreams, and death.

In my view this is one of the best Chabrol's movies. Unfortunately, it did not get as much attention as the others.

Sylvia Kristel was good in her role. She has actually shown she could act.