How the film Mars Express shakes up French science fiction
An investigation populated by androids and cyber-augmented killers, Mars Express brings “hard” SF up to date. A little bomb between the Earth and the red planet, of which director Jérémie Périn and co-writer Laurent Sarfati give us the manufacturing secrets.
Between 2016 and 2022, Jérémie Périn and Laurent Sarfati struck a big blow with the series Lastman. Thirty-two episodes which hinted at a small revolution within French adult animation, at once violent, dark, raw and often funny. A sort of japanimation made in France, whose spirit and graphic touch we find in Mars Express. The story takes place in the year 2200: the red planet has been colonized by humanity and we follow the investigation of an alcoholic private detective and her android partner between Earth and Mars, in search of a missing cybernetics student.
The film, presented at both the Cannes and Annecy festivals (a good indicator of its mutant nature), is part of the deserted genre of hard SF, a science fiction that is as plausible as possible. “ The French genre films highlighted are still from a very auteurist angle, with a little shame of their true nature », Judges director Jérémy Périn. None of that in Mars Express, driven by a desire “ of space “, “ of fights “, ” somewhat risky staging effects” and “ to break down other doors after Lastman “. Périn and his co-writer Laurent Sarfati tell First how they revived a whole section of SF that had hitherto been dormant.
By taking science as Ariadne’s thread
Mars Express imposes a scientifically plausible universe, even when it comes to colonizing the red planet.
Jérémie Périn: From the screenplay, the question of the film’s plausibility arose. The goal was to make SF that didn’t look “magical.” This is what we were missing as spectators. It was very important to strictly establish the rules of the game, the functioning of this universe: socially, economically and therefore scientifically. In particular, we met Sylvain Bouley, a planetologist specializing in Mars. We asked him where he would develop a colony on this planet. He had never asked the question! He guided us to Noctis Labyrinthus, a network of gigantic canyons. If humanity were to place a dome on Mars, it would be here: the walls are already there, all that remains is to put the ceiling. (Laughter.) From there, we drew a logical thread: if there is a glass ceiling, then we are not going to build tall buildings. Hence this sprawling, horizontal city, which resembles Los Angeles.
Laurent Sarfati: The reference to LA was also the opportunity to develop a feeling of nostalgia while we are in the future: the film takes place after a period equivalent to the Wild West for the conquest of the United States. On Earth, Los Angeles was the end of the journey across America from east to west. In 2200, on Mars, the time for adventure is also behind us. Everyone is already comfortable.
J.P. : There is a terminal exploration aspect. The other planets are too far away for humanity, inaccessible. It’s the end of the western, the final frontier has been reached. And now what do we do?
Thinking about his style
If Lastman was an aesthetic shock, Mars Express goes even further in the mixture between japanimation and striking realism.
JP: I have often asked myself the question of graphics as a vector of emotions. Animation, unlike live action, is the infinite possibility of design. And realistic drawing has the enormous advantage of supporting all the breaks in tone, which are legion in Mars Express. I was also looking for a way to accentuate the relationship with the scenario, which went hand in hand with a realistic aesthetic: a simple, elegant and unadorned drawing. Photorealistic but not transferred either. If we had gone with something more “cartoon”, the film would have been completely different.
By doubling the French way
Hearing the voices of Léa Drucker or Mathieu Amalric in a science fiction film is already a journey in itself. An obviously very thoughtful cognitive dissonance.
L.S. : We worked on voice creation, that is to say that the actors only had the text when recording. Then, based on their voices, Jérémy and his teams imagined the animations of the characters, their bodies, their faces and their expressions.
J.P. : I like to be surprised by actors. They arrive with their baggage and their playing habits – sometimes very different – and everything gets mixed up. I find it particularly interesting when actors perform as usual in front of a camera. We sort it out during editing, with the animatic which contains the recorded voices. Depending on the rhythm, the images… What bounces, what dynamics do we want? We also rely on silences or intonations shifted in relation to the situations, which gives slightly bizarre moments of suspension. I find that it brings the characters to life internally.
L.S. : This dissonance between the graphics and the dubbing voices that you speak of, we had already experimented with with some success on Lastman. I believe that it is also a way of defining a universe.
J.P. : And it brings humor. I have a bit of a problem with films that take themselves too seriously all the time.
L.S. : But it’s not second degree. There are no winks or connivance that would put the audience at a distance.
By renewing the imagery
Tackling space sci-fi means risking reproducing already proven designs. Mars Express tries to avoid the pitfall.
J.P. : The desire for verisimilitude that I mentioned earlier logically extended to the vehicles in the film, the functioning of which had to be at least plausible. It’s impossible to reinvent everything in terms of design, but we tried to think outside the box. For example, we refused reactor propulsion as we see all the time. A little digging revealed a satellite system that sends a laser onto reflector panels. In reality, it’s still in its infancy, but we grant ourselves poetic license: in the future, it’s a functional technology. (Laughter.) In any case, this allows us to slightly renew the imagery of this type of space travel. For the car borrowed by Aline and Carlos, the heroes of Mars Express, we actually asked automobile designers to create it. We thought with them about their options and how it would work, in the most realistic way possible. In the film, it is simplified in drawing, but it was modeled in 3D from the cabin to the wheels.
By rethinking the robot
Of Blade Runner has Ghost in the Shell, the figure of the android seems to have been worn out by years of SF cinema. Unless…
L.S. : One of the foundations of the film comes from a simple observation: we have more and more problems differentiating reality from fiction. The boundaries between the natural and the artificial are becoming porous and this is the subject that we wanted to address. Humans are becoming more and more dehumanized and robots are becoming more and more sensitive.
J.P. : There is also a desire to decenter the anthropomorphism that the genre maintains with machines. Often in science fiction, humans are the heart of the story. And this is even more true when it comes to extraterrestrials, obviously still fascinated by men as a species. (Laughter.) But it’s the same thing with robots who want to become humans, pure Pinocchios. However, we have another proposition: there is no hierarchy. Which does not prevent a possible collaboration but…
L.S. :… We are basically animals, which robots are not. They are something else. Sensitive, sure, but not human.
By assuming its influences
Very aware of being the heir of numerous works which led to his creation, Mars Express however manages to find its singularity without being crushed by its references.
J.P. : Oh, Mars Express made you think of Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Paprika) ? Funny, because I like what he did even if it’s not a huge reference for me… I’m more influenced by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor), but they are artists from the same family. Our real point of connection with them – apart from the Métal hurlant school, which itself infused Japan and the United States – is the alliance of a marked aesthetic with the desire to make a broader cinema than animation. Graphically, I try to find less traveled paths, but you can never escape external influences. It’s normal. Especially since SF is a genre that follows codes. Even on the scenario, we questioned ourselves: “ Be careful, this scene is too reminiscent of this or that… »
L.S. : I have fewer scruples than you! (Laughter.) Let’s say that the films to which we refer – despite ourselves, I point out – we love them. We are steeped in a certain Japanese and American cinema from the 80s and 90s. When they came out, these films themselves referenced other films. That’s just what creation is: standing on the shoulders of the previous one.
J.P. : And then we must not flagellate ourselves: in a scene of Mars Expressthere is a clear reference to Terminator 2. The truth is, I haven’t been able to come up with a better idea. Well, too bad, I’ll keep it! On the other hand, I apply the concept to a human and not to a robot. Which totally dehumanizes her and makes her more robotic than the androids alongside her. It was a way of using this reference to my advantage, of clarifying the point of view I have on this character.
By trusting the viewer
Never explanatory on its technology or the past of its characters, the film refuses to take the audience by the hand. No need for a guide: everything is there, before your eyes.
J.P. : I made sure to reduce the dialogued exhibitions as much as possible. For a pragmatic reason: it would seem ridiculous to me for the characters to tell their own story to their friends. The solution to making things understood is to explain them several times, with clues scattered throughout the film. And the bet is that the spectator puts the pieces of the puzzle together. The textual explanation bores me in cinema, I wanted something more sensory, which is essentially based on sound and image.
L.S. : Cinema, like series, has less and less confidence in its spectators. They leave them little room for freedom to interpret what they see. It makes me feel like I’m being taken for an idiot: as soon as there is the slightest doubt about a character, someone will explain to you what you are seeing. That’s all we wanted to avoid.
Mars Expressby Jérémie Périn, with the voices of Léa Drucker, Mathieu Amalric, Daniel Njo Lobé… Currently in cinemas.
