France’s Answer To Ghost In The Shell Makes For Thrilling Sci-Fi Noir [Annecy 2023]

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This is a visually appealing film with a lavish world and great sci-fi designs. The team, led by director Jérémie Périn, draws a clear line between the technology of today and the cyberpunk future of “Mars Express.” This is not a case of imagining a wildly different futuristic world that will feel vastly outdated and fake in a few years, but something closer to the world we live in.

When it comes to animation, this is a film that combines live-action cinematography and camera work (we have split diopter shows, depth of field, and more) with stunning 2D animation that makes this a fully realized world. “Mars Express” is a dense film, one that probably requires more than one viewing to fully digest. The most interesting of the many sci-fi concepts and ideas explored is that of the robot. “Mars Express” shows different types of artificial life as it asks the question of whether A.I. is sentient and has rights, from humanoid flesh robots indistinguishable from the real thing to cybernetic reconstructions of dead people, and simpler androids. 

“Mars Express” works because even its most outlandish and complex sci-fi concept is grounded in human drama, like how students have to resort to renting out their brain computing power to companies in order to pay rent. Beyond the secret plot involving A.I. jailbreaking, we care about Aline and Carlos because they are fully fleshed people, with the former struggling with a history of alcoholism and the latter still coming to terms with being a robot recreation of a dead guy and the less than ideal way his marriage ended. Indeed, the central mystery is all the more compelling because of that human element. 

/Film rating: 8 out of 10

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