Animation First is a film festival dedicated to showcasing why Francophone animation is awesome. As a result, it’s expanded from a three-day event to six! On opening night will be Mars Express, and it’s the perfect way to get this show started! This party runs from Jan 23 to 28th in New York, playing at various venues down Lower Manhattan Island.
What’s offered has come a long way since the days of what I saw on CBC‘s French channel. In regards to the limited options I saw growing up, what’s produced these days is vastly different from those television shows and the few films I saw long ago. My early introduction came from watching what was off television with works like Inspector Hound and Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea. It wasn’t until after watching Michael Dudok de Wit’s The Red Turtle (2016) that my interest was elevated to new levels.
Just what this celebration showcases is terrific. The French Institute Alliance Française manages this show, and this year, has seven feature-length films, six short film programs, a “First Look” presentation, filmmaker talks, the annual Student Short Film Competition, works from the National Film Board of Canada in a spotlight and the list doesn’t end there.
What I’ll be offering this week are reviews from this festival.
Mars Express Movie Review
This movie directed by Jérémie Périn is quite the deep film. It explores the problems that exist between man and machine. In this case, the focus is on Aline Ruby (Léa Drucker) and her android companion, Carlos Rivera (Daniel Njo Lobé). Their relationship is explored and I couldn’t help but be reminded of the anime Appleseed. In this anime, Deunan Knute and Briareos’ partnership is sometimes the focus rather than the action.
This French work is about what these detectives discover while on a missing persons case. It’ll affect the lives of everyone on Mars, and man’s relationship with machines on the same level as Blade Runner or even Ghost in the Shell.
Although this tale gets very talkative, these discussions define the action much more than the set pieces. This film requires multiple viewings in order to be comprehensible. Visually, what’s drawn is gorgeous and has a style reminiscent of Jean Mœbius Giraud’s own works.
There’s plenty of cyber talk going on though. Aline and Carlos eventually have to ally with Roberta Williams (Marie Bouvet), a hacker, and pretty soon, what they discover leads to an effective detective tale to figure out who has the vendetta against robots. There’s an explosive microchip embedded in every bot, and it’s up to this team to put a stop to this nefarious plan.
And as for why Earth has been abandoned, that’s a story which needs explaining should a sequel get made.
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