''Alice or the Last Escapade'' (french: italic=yes, Alice ou la dernière fugue) is a 1977 French

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction ...

written and directed by

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues a ...

. The film is very loosely inspired by the 1865 novel ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

'' by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

, including the protagonist's name being Alice Carroll (a combination of the Alice character and the author's

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

ous

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Plot

While leaving her husband, whom she has grown to despise, Alice (

Sylvia Kristel Sylvia Maria Kristel (28 September 1952 17 October 2012) was a Dutch actress and model who appeared in over 50 films. She is best remembered as the eponymous character in five of the seven Emmanuelle films, including originating the role with ''E ...

) drives into the pristine countryside. She must stop at an old house, when her

windshield The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. ...

has cracked mysteriously. An old man and his butler welcome her at the mansion as if she were expected. The old man insists on her staying overnight. They even offer to have her car repaired in the morning. Alice is woken up in the middle of the night by a booming noise. The next day the car is there, with a new windshield. But Alice finds herself alone in the deserted house. After enjoying a good breakfast laid out for her, Alice jumps into the car again. She soon realizes that she cannot find the gateway to the country house from whence she came. A tree trunk seems to be in the way. Reluctantly, Alice returns to the old house. She then tries to walk the way with her suitcase. In her attempt to do so, Alice meets a young man who tells her to accept the fact that there is no way out. Is she in

limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...

? She has to spend a second night in the mansion. The old man is there again and provides some explanations. The following day is a bright morning full of birdsong. Once more breakfast is ready for her in the lonely house. She takes the car again and finds the path and the gate to the highway. Is she really out? A few more strange characters come her way. Her windshield cracks again.

Principal cast

Critical reception

From ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'': From www.devlidead.com:

References

External links

* * {{Alice 1977 films 1977 horror films 1970s fantasy films 1970s horror thriller films French horror thriller films Adultery in films French dark fantasy films Films based on Alice in Wonderland Films directed by Claude Chabrol French ghost films French haunted house films Paranormal films Supernatural thriller films French supernatural horror films Films set in country houses 1970s French-language films 1970s French films