Alice (2005 film)


Alice is a Portuguese film directed by Marco Martins, released in 2005. Alice stars Nuno Lopes as Mário, the father, and Beatriz Batarda as Luísa, his wife, as well as Miguel Guilherme, Ana Bustorff, Gonçalo Waddington, Carla Maciel, Laura Soveral and José Wallenstein. Alice was produced by Paulo Branco. Music is by Bernardo Sassetti.
Shot in a dark, depressive undertone, Alice unveils a Lisbon whose mists, colours, alleys and moods are strangers, despite the familiarity of the locations. All seems odd, silently cruel, as cruel is the disappearance of a child from the path she'd traveled every day in safety. The anguish is masterfully conveyed, and so is the loneliness of both parents.

Plot

It's been 193 days since Alice was last seen. Every day, her father, Mário, leaves home and follows exactly the same route the day Alice disappeared. In his quest, Mário creates a video surveillance network on the places she might walk, the airport, anything that may provide a clue.
Every day, he watches countless hours of surveillance tapes in fast-forward, expecting to get a glimpse of his child. Almost every day, hope is born. Almost every day, hope is extinguished - until one day, the search seems to be over.

Cast

An internationally acclaimed success, Alice won and received nominations for a number of awards, including:
Alice was submitted for the 79th Academy Awards in the category Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.