Mars Express: a SF summit made in France (review)

ByLeila November 20, 2023

Murders, androids, augmented humans and trafficking of all kinds: a great animated film where dizziness arises as much from its staging as from its quite inimitable visual style

The history of science fiction cinema is such that France has rarely been able to match the Americans and the Japanese. 2023 will perhaps be the year of change: radical proposal from SF, Mars Express flexes your muscles and is part of the spectacular comeback of the French genre film (Acid, The Ranimal kingdomVincent must have diedr…). It is the year 2200, the red planet has been colonized for a long time and a private detective, accompanied by her android partner, seeks to elucidate the disappearance of a cybernetics student. An investigation between Earth and Mars that will shake the entire civilization… Raised at the Métal Hurlant school, director Jérémie Périn (noted thanks to the animated series Crisis Jung And Lastman) very naturally imposes a universe populated by intelligent robots, villainous murders, shenanigans, corrupt institutions and a lot of second degree (the phrasing of the voice actors, deliberately very “French”, creates a quite hilarious dissonance). Science fiction generously hard boiledwhich dialogues with Ghost in the Shell And Blade Runner without being crushed by these untouchable references. The dizziness arises as much through the staging – the insane action sequences as the calm moments are filmed with the same mania – as through a rather inimitable visual style, at the junction of a glacial realism and exaggerations typical of the japanimation. After that, French SF will never be the same.

Of Jérémie Périn With the voices of Léa Drucker, Mathieu Amalric, Daniel Njo Lobé… Duration 1 hour 25. Released November 22, 2023

Leila

Leila is the editor-in-chief at DTmovies, leading the charge with her team to deliver engaging cinema and series content. With a keen eye for emerging trends and a passion for the stories behind the screen, she is the creative backbone that drives the site’s editorial excellence. Her expertise and dedication have established DTmovies as a go-to source for film and series enthusiasts.