Alice ou la dernière fugue

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...

I saw this movie on TV when I was 11 years old and it had a deep impression on me. Watching it again, I can identify many elements which are (and already were in the 1976) very conventional, or even outdated: the existentialist/ nouveau roman-plot, the Margritte-aesthetics, the "Psycho"-allusions...

The portrait of Alice (Kristel, sensuous as ever) and of her fate is sometimes of a certain merciless quality (misogynous tendencies?), but this movie is emulating the scenario of a real "cauchemare" far better than any other "Splatter" or "Horror"-Movie.

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.

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.

The Disney cartoon is one of my favorite movies and while looking into other adaptations of the story I stumbled across this.

The beginning of the movie feels cliche and it drags a little. When she gets to Wonder/Horrorland the movie began to pull me in. The eerie infinite looping Mansion, with freaky characters and bizarre happenstances work well to build an unpredictable world that you alongside Alice get stuck in. Towards the end of the movie, keeping it spoiler free, Alice made a decision that I really don't understand. And the conclusion is something I had seen before in a Twilight Zone episode.

As an adaptation of Alice In Wonderland/Looking-Glass it's a flop. There is no Wonderland. None of the characters are there. The story is original. It's not complete non-sense. It's adult oriented. And aside from a couple of vague novel references it has nothing to do with Carrol's Story.

As a stand alone I think it's a hidden gem. With dozens of movie renditions, Alice doesn't always need to be true to the book. This movie has a great atmosphere, and in its own right a good sense of world building. Sure it's flawed and is clearly put together with time constraints and a low budget. But I do think it's worth checking out, and it's among the better horror movies that I have seen.