Runtime: 88 minutes
Directed by: Jeremie Perin
Starring: This animated film from France was dubbed in English
From: A shocking number of French companies
I was happy to see a mature sci-fi animated film on the silver screen last night. Sure, this French movie received a halfway-decent theatrical release in the United States due to the lack of movies made last year and the version GKIDS put out is dubbed in English, but I can’t complain. Despite GKIDS releasing the film, there are several F-bombs and other cursing, so that alone is why I proclaim it is mature.
Going into the film, little was known of its plot; I’ll attempt to be on the vague side myself. In the year 2200, a detective and her android partner (one of several different robots that exist. There are synthetics which can hold the soul of someone after they pass away) investigate the disappearance of two college students from Alan Turing University-an amusing reference-but it naturally is much more complicated. There’s a conspiracy involving a powerful person and believe it or not, Mars Express is a neo-noir sci-fi picture. To answer a burning question: yes, AI is a plot component. The protagonist is a flawed character who fights to stay sober on a daily basis. That is not the only aspect which (figuratively) colors this movie a little darkly.
The animation looked nice, the dubbing was satisfactory & the swell score was appropriately electronic. However, it was the interesting characters and the complex, thought-provoking story which was the biggest delight. The plot slowly unfurled in a dome world obviously modeled on the Los Angeles area and I was always at rapt attention viewing the leads attempt to discover why some robots are exhibiting unusual behavior. The movie is reminiscent of a few other properties, as people have noted. Ghost in the Shell was an obvious example, as was Blade Runner. There even is a 2001 moment, as I deem it.
That said, Mars Express never felt derivative, telling a worthy tell in only 88 minutes, including end credits. It was a treat seeing a movie like this theatrically. Perhaps in the future I’ll view more mature animated movies, including those in the science fiction genre.
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