The Escapees (1981)

On the run from an asylum for the insane, a feisty young girl and a forlorn female companion embark on a surreal journey with a group of traveling erotic dancers. Wandering from the fantastic to the farcical and back again,

Director:

Jean Rollin

Writers:

Jacques Ralf (dialogue), Jean Rollin

Stars:

Laurence Dubas, Christiane Coppé, Marianne Valiot

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laurence Dubas	...	Michelle
Christiane Coppé	...	Marie
Marianne Valiot	...	Sophie (as Marianne Valio)
Patrick Perrot	...	Pierrot
Louise Dhour	...	Mme Louise
Jean-Louis Fortuit
Jean Hérel
Claude Lévèque
Patricia Mercurol
Brigitte Lahaie	...	Femme couple bourgeois
Céline Royce
Jean Philippe Delamarre
Bernard Papineau
Natalie Perrey
Pearl June

Storyline

On the run from an asylum for the insane, a feisty young girl and a forlorn female companion embark on a surreal journey with a group of traveling erotic dancers. Wandering from the fantastic to the farcical and back again,

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | murder | insanity | ice skating | thief | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Also Known As:

The Escapees

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films ABC,Impex Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was adapted from two separate screenplays.

User Reviews

The Escapees

Escapees, The (1981)

** (out of 4)

Forgotten film from Rollin about two girls who escape from a mental hospital and go on an odyssey. Michelle is the rougher of the two as she knows how to survive. Marie on the other hand has a fear of people yet for some reason she is attached to Michelle and wants to stay close to her on this journey. If you're looking for some sort of plot then you're going to be disappointed because there isn't one here. In the interview on the DVD Rollin talks about the various issues with the production of the film and how when they finally got it filmed, no one wanted it. After being released on video in a few countries, the film was pretty much given away to air on TV before the eventual DVD release. I didn't think the film was as bad as many had made it out to be but it's not too good either and in the end this is certainly for Rollin completest only. Those new to the director would certainly be best to start with one of his vampire films or better known works like THE LIVING DEAD GIRL. This movie actually shares a lot in common with the director's 1980 film NIGHT OF THE HUNTED, which is one I really hated. This one here works if you view it as some sort of strange nightmare or surreal trip to some unknown world. Everything we see is a reality but you might as well look at it as some sort of dream because none of it really makes any sense and in the end you'll probably be asking yourself what the entire point of the film was. I'm not sure what the point was but we do get some classic touches from Rollin. One scene involves a rather beautiful ice-skating sequence that packs a nice little punch. Another scene happens just before it and that's when the girls are standing on some docks letting giant waves hit them. The sexuality in the film is actually quite low as is the nudity up until the very end when Brigitte Lahaie shows up and does a very sexy little number. The two female leads fit their roles just fine and the supporting cast isn't too bad either. The biggest flaw in the film is its 101-minute running time, which is just way too long considering nothing happens and there are several scenes that pretty much just replay things that have happened earlier.