Alice and the Mayor (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Alice made a deliberate career shift from teaching in England to working at Lyon city hall. While the exact reasons aren't fully detailed in the film, it's clear she was seeking a new direction in life, a move that reflects her desire for change and perhaps a more impactful way of using her intellectual abilities beyond academia.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish Alice as a reserved, thoughtful person searching for meaning beyond her previous life.

• Alice
• teaching job
• England
• Lyon
• career change

Alice earned her promotion through her intelligence, dedication, and valuable contributions to Mayor Théraneau. Her ability to provide insightful ideas and fresh perspectives impressed him greatly. However, her rapid rise created tension among colleagues who felt overlooked, suggesting workplace politics and resentment toward an outsider who quickly gained the mayor's favor.

Foreshadowing: Her initial conversations with Théraneau already demonstrate her unique value as someone who challenges his thinking.

• Alice promotion
• city hall
• jealousy
• colleagues
• mayor Théraneau

Alice quickly realized the "city of the future" project was essentially a vanity exercise, more about appearance and political posturing than making any real progress or meaningful change. This disillusionment reflects her growing understanding that intellectual discussions in politics often fail to produce tangible results, a theme that deepens throughout her conversations with Théraneau.

Foreshadowing: Her early conversations with the mayor hint at her growing awareness of the gap between political rhetoric and actual outcomes.

• Alice
• city planning
• disillusionment
• vanity project
• Lyon

Théraneau, a lifelong socialist and experienced politician, decided to pursue the presidential nomination as the next logical step in his political career. His decision appears to stem from both ambition and a genuine desire to contribute at the highest level, especially given his decades of service in politics and his growing engagement with Alice's philosophical perspectives.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes Théraneau as a politician at a crossroads, feeling a sense of emptiness after years in office.

• Théraneau
• presidential nomination
• socialist
• campaign
• Lyon mayor

At the socialist congress, Théraneau experienced significant doubt about his chances of winning the nomination. Rather than deliver the speech Alice had helped him prepare, he chose to withdraw from public view entirely. This moment reveals his internal struggles and perhaps a deeper realization about whether politics truly fulfills him, a turning point that reflects his character's uncertainty and disillusionment.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Théraneau grappling with the weight of political expectations and his relationship with Alice.

• Théraneau
• socialist congress
• withdrawal
• speech
• presidential race

Alice met an entrepreneur who had revived Lyon's last remaining hand-printing business, a symbol of the city's industrial heritage. After intimacy at his apartment, he harshly criticized her way of life, which deeply shook and unsettled her. This encounter left Alice questioning her own choices and future, highlighting her vulnerability despite her intellectual confidence.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish Alice as someone searching for meaning, making her receptive to this unsettling encounter.

• Alice
• entrepreneur
• hand-printing
• Lyon
• criticism

After her disturbing encounter with the entrepreneur, Alice reached out to Gauthier, her former lover, seeking emotional comfort and support. Gauthier visited her apartment to reassure her, which underscores Alice's emotional vulnerability and her need for connection during a moment of personal crisis. The scene also reveals ongoing complexities in her relationships and her sense of isolation.

Foreshadowing: Alice's earlier visit to Gauthier already established their past connection and her emotional needs.

• Alice
• Gauthier
• former lover
• comfort
• emotional vulnerability

Three years after the events at city hall, Alice had moved to England, started a family, and become a mother. When she returns to Lyon and reunites with Théraneau, who has retired from politics, their dynamic has shifted dramatically. Théraneau now has time to read and reflect, something he lacked during his political career, while Alice is absorbed in motherhood. Their reunion shows both warmth and the stark divergence of their life paths.

Foreshadowing: The film foreshadows their eventual divergence through Alice's disillusionment and Théraneau's growing emptiness.

• Alice
• Théraneau
• three years later
• reunion
• Lyon
• family

Through her work at city hall and conversations with Théraneau, Alice came to understand that while politicians and advisors engage in abundant intellectual discussions, actual results and tangible action are what truly matter. This realization became central to her perspective, highlighting the film's theme that discourse without delivery is ultimately hollow, a critique of political theater that shapes both her professional and personal outlook.

Foreshadowing: Her disillusionment with the "city of the future" project directly illustrates this realization.

• Alice
• discussion
• action
• politics
• Théraneau
• results

Théraneau hired Alice because he was at a crossroads after decades in politics, experiencing a profound sense of emptiness and purposelessness. As someone too busy for reading or deep reflection, he needed Alice's philosophical insights to gain a fresh perspective on his work and life. Their contrasting personalities, his political pragmatism versus her intellectual approach, created a productive tension that challenged both their beliefs.

Foreshadowing: The opening establishes Théraneau's feelings of stagnation and his search for meaning beyond political routines.

• Théraneau
• Alice
• perspective
• philosophy
• mayor
• emptiness