I often imagine what could be possible if Hollywood Studios understood that Animation is a tool to tell stories not an excuse to produce oftentimes terrible kids’ films. Mars Express is the kind of adult serious-minded animation that shows how this tool can create mature visually stunning works. The French-produced Sci-Fi Action Thriller is one of the most audacious, relevant, adroit piece of pop filmmaking to be released in some time.
Mars Express is set in 2200 where robots and humans live a contentious life together on Mars. Many find AI and robots interfere with their way of life, so much so, that violent protests have begun. Two Private Eyes Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos, who died five years prior and is now the collective memory backup of him – capture a robot hacking criminal. Taking her back to Mars they find that she has no arrest warrant and must release her. This begins a series of events and mysteries the duo must unravel that could be a part of the larger uprisings and violence that has been occurring.
Co-writer/Director Jérémie Périn has made a stylish verbose piece of sci-pulp-fiction that is as zeitgeist a film that has recently been released. The film’s central theme of AI costing humans dearly for the bottom line of corporations is literally today’s headlines. Though at the movie’s heart is a mystery ala Mike Hammer. That central conceit of a detective story focuses the film in the right way making the more “social themes” feel less preachy.
There is a sense of smart world-building here that’s beyond much of what Hollywood passes off as big-budget sci-fi. In the less than 90-minute runtime (with credits), Mars Express, manages the impressive feat of not just telling one story but multiple larger stories with a surprising amount of depth. Few live-action films manage to have their female lead so fully realized and complicated as this film does. Aline is not some simple perfect hero without issues. Périn gives her all the bumps and bruises that one who’s failed at life but is good at an obsessive job like a detective would be. In fact, Aline is ounce for ounce as interesting as her robot/deceased partner Carlos – whose own personal history is as tragic as anything in the film.
Ultimately, Mars Express builds to a crescendo of apocalyptic proportions, giving us an ending that’s as befitting a Stanley Kubrick film. One that fits perfectly within the confines of this outer reaches of detective fiction. An ending that is as dazzlingly as a detective story has had since Robert Aldrich’s daring Kiss Me Deadly.
Mars Express is not only one of the best animated films of 2024 it’s one of the best films of the year, period, end of discussion.
The Transfer
It’s become an afterthought of how good the transfers that Shout/GKIDS are provided by the various animation studios. Mars Express is as beautifully rendered on Blu-Ray. The beautiful mixture of CGI compositing and Cell animation style used by the filmmakers is a perfect example of why one must buy physical media and not watch a stream. The animation in its fluid dream-like quality benefits from the verbose Blu-Ray bitrate allowing for a perfectly rendered image without any pixelation, ghosting, or blur that comes with watching something via a stream. Mars Express in this Blu-Ray iteration is a prime example of how amazing a visual presentation one can get out of the format.
The Extras
They include the following;
Let’s Play Classic Games with Director Jérémie Périn
Director Scene Breakdown – Opening Scene
Director Scene Breakdown – Sequence 78
Let’s Play Classic Games with Director Jérémie Périn (36:45) – hosted by Thomas Biery from GKIDS this interview/featurette with director Jérémie Périn is a unique way of looking at the style and influences of the film – including the references within Mars Express that the director hid in plain sight. Some of the details include the origins of Mars Express; working with co-writer Laurent Sarfati and their developing of projects – including their use of King’s book On Writing; some of the unrealized ideas that he wished he could have brought to the screen; the various pieces of research they did including a discussion with NASA to develop the look and design of the film; what draws him to science fiction; his top five gaming consoles; his favorite current games he’s playing; and much more. Note the games they play are Amiga’s Another World, and Cyber Matrix (console unknown).
Director Scene Breakdown – Opening Scene (13:38) – in lieu of a commentary track, director Jérémie Périn breaks down the opening scene with the use of a tablet and various iterations of the scene in various forms of completion. Périn is a great breakdown of every aspect of the scene from camera movement, character movement, development of the story, references used to complete the scene, personal touches to bring verisimilitude to the scene, the differences in techniques used to complete the scene (e.g., 3D, 2D, etc.), plus some funny advice to filmmakers that are naming characters after their friends. A nice touch is after Périn finishes his discussion the entire sequence plays without interruption. This a must-view for any animation obsessive or someone wanting to go into animation as the featurette is a mini-master class in filmmaking. In French with English Subtitles.
Director Scene Breakdown – Sequence 78 (16:18) – like the previous featurette director Jérémie Périn breaks down Sequence 78 aka the road chase that happens mid-film. Périn is a great breakdown of every aspect of the scene from camera movement; character and vehicle/equipment how they move and interact with characters; the various animators and their specific functions especially for an action scene; references used to complete the scene; personal touches to bring a verisimilitude to the scene; the differences in techniques used to complete the scene (e.g., 3D, 2D, transitions from 2D/hand drawn to 3D CG assisted, etc.); and his theories on action and the need for clear geography throughout, and much more. A nice touch is after Périn finishes his discussion the entire sequence plays without interruption but unlike the opening sequence, this has a side-by-side comparison of the rough animatic version of the scene and the completed sequence. This a must-view for any animation obsessive or someone wanting to go into animation as the featurette is a mini-master class in filmmaking. In French with English Subtitles.
The Final Thought
Mars Express is a unique animated film. Shout Studios and GKIDS have given it a wonderful edition. Highest Possible Recommendations!!!
The celebrated French Animated feature Mars Express makes its way to Blu-ray thanks to Shout Studios and GKIDS.
The Film
I often imagine what could be possible if Hollywood Studios understood that Animation is a tool to tell stories not an excuse to produce oftentimes terrible kids’ films. Mars Express is the kind of adult serious-minded animation that shows how this tool can create mature visually stunning works. The French-produced Sci-Fi Action Thriller is one of the most audacious, relevant, adroit piece of pop filmmaking to be released in some time.
Mars Express is set in 2200 where robots and humans live a contentious life together on Mars. Many find AI and robots interfere with their way of life, so much so, that violent protests have begun. Two Private Eyes Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos, who died five years prior and is now the collective memory backup of him – capture a robot hacking criminal. Taking her back to Mars they find that she has no arrest warrant and must release her. This begins a series of events and mysteries the duo must unravel that could be a part of the larger uprisings and violence that has been occurring.
Co-writer/Director Jérémie Périn has made a stylish verbose piece of sci-pulp-fiction that is as zeitgeist a film that has recently been released. The film’s central theme of AI costing humans dearly for the bottom line of corporations is literally today’s headlines. Though at the movie’s heart is a mystery ala Mike Hammer. That central conceit of a detective story focuses the film in the right way making the more “social themes” feel less preachy.
There is a sense of smart world-building here that’s beyond much of what Hollywood passes off as big-budget sci-fi. In the less than 90-minute runtime (with credits), Mars Express, manages the impressive feat of not just telling one story but multiple larger stories with a surprising amount of depth. Few live-action films manage to have their female lead so fully realized and complicated as this film does. Aline is not some simple perfect hero without issues. Périn gives her all the bumps and bruises that one who’s failed at life but is good at an obsessive job like a detective would be. In fact, Aline is ounce for ounce as interesting as her robot/deceased partner Carlos – whose own personal history is as tragic as anything in the film.
Ultimately, Mars Express builds to a crescendo of apocalyptic proportions, giving us an ending that’s as befitting a Stanley Kubrick film. One that fits perfectly within the confines of this outer reaches of detective fiction. An ending that is as dazzlingly as a detective story has had since Robert Aldrich’s daring Kiss Me Deadly.
Mars Express is not only one of the best animated films of 2024 it’s one of the best films of the year, period, end of discussion.
The Transfer
It’s become an afterthought of how good the transfers that Shout/GKIDS are provided by the various animation studios. Mars Express is as beautifully rendered on Blu-Ray. The beautiful mixture of CGI compositing and Cell animation style used by the filmmakers is a perfect example of why one must buy physical media and not watch a stream. The animation in its fluid dream-like quality benefits from the verbose Blu-Ray bitrate allowing for a perfectly rendered image without any pixelation, ghosting, or blur that comes with watching something via a stream. Mars Express in this Blu-Ray iteration is a prime example of how amazing a visual presentation one can get out of the format.
The Extras
They include the following;
Let’s Play Classic Games with Director Jérémie Périn (36:45) – hosted by Thomas Biery from GKIDS this interview/featurette with director Jérémie Périn is a unique way of looking at the style and influences of the film – including the references within Mars Express that the director hid in plain sight. Some of the details include the origins of Mars Express; working with co-writer Laurent Sarfati and their developing of projects – including their use of King’s book On Writing; some of the unrealized ideas that he wished he could have brought to the screen; the various pieces of research they did including a discussion with NASA to develop the look and design of the film; what draws him to science fiction; his top five gaming consoles; his favorite current games he’s playing; and much more. Note the games they play are Amiga’s Another World, and Cyber Matrix (console unknown).
Director Scene Breakdown – Opening Scene (13:38) – in lieu of a commentary track, director Jérémie Périn breaks down the opening scene with the use of a tablet and various iterations of the scene in various forms of completion. Périn is a great breakdown of every aspect of the scene from camera movement, character movement, development of the story, references used to complete the scene, personal touches to bring verisimilitude to the scene, the differences in techniques used to complete the scene (e.g., 3D, 2D, etc.), plus some funny advice to filmmakers that are naming characters after their friends. A nice touch is after Périn finishes his discussion the entire sequence plays without interruption. This a must-view for any animation obsessive or someone wanting to go into animation as the featurette is a mini-master class in filmmaking. In French with English Subtitles.
Director Scene Breakdown – Sequence 78 (16:18) – like the previous featurette director Jérémie Périn breaks down Sequence 78 aka the road chase that happens mid-film. Périn is a great breakdown of every aspect of the scene from camera movement; character and vehicle/equipment how they move and interact with characters; the various animators and their specific functions especially for an action scene; references used to complete the scene; personal touches to bring a verisimilitude to the scene; the differences in techniques used to complete the scene (e.g., 3D, 2D, transitions from 2D/hand drawn to 3D CG assisted, etc.); and his theories on action and the need for clear geography throughout, and much more. A nice touch is after Périn finishes his discussion the entire sequence plays without interruption but unlike the opening sequence, this has a side-by-side comparison of the rough animatic version of the scene and the completed sequence. This a must-view for any animation obsessive or someone wanting to go into animation as the featurette is a mini-master class in filmmaking. In French with English Subtitles.
The Final Thought
Mars Express is a unique animated film. Shout Studios and GKIDS have given it a wonderful edition. Highest Possible Recommendations!!!
Shout Studios Blu-Ray edition of Mars Express is out now.
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