Mars Express

Crafted by Jérémie Périn with the precision of a scalpel, MARS EXPRESS is a bleak sci-fi fable about a not-so-distant future. We follow the adventures of two detectives: Aline, a recovering alcoholic, and her associate Carlos, who died five years earlier and is now an android replica of himself wishing to reunite with his family. With echoes of Oshii Mamoru’s GHOST IN THE SHELL, Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER and Paul Verhoeven’s ROBOCOP, MARS EXPRESS presents a stylised nightmare throbbing with ethical and philosophical dilemmas.
The case of a cybernetics student who has been accused of hacking a robot drives Aline and Carlos to the depths of Noctis—the capital of Mars— where they will begin to unravel a dark web of secrets and surprising stories. The film taps into concerns that reflect on pressing contemporary debates: artificial intelligence, the colonisation of other planets, the exploitation of other forms of life... MARS EXPRESS is a neo-noir of polished surfaces and sudden blows—where the twists and turns of a convoluted plot intermingle with the sensorial and graphic exploration of the environment. Dense as fog and cold as steel, the film moves seamlessly between frantic action and contemplation of the abyss. (Cristina Álvarez López)