Mars Express Review: France's Answer To Ghost In The Shell Makes For Thrilling Sci-Fi Noir [Annecy 2023]

"Ghost in the Shell" is one hell of an influential film, with its visuals, sci-fi concepts, and commentary on our relationship with technology inspiring everything from "The Matrix" to "Avatar" and Steven Spielberg's "A.I." As many imitators as there have been, there has not been one that best exemplifies the rebellious and innovative nature of that film as much as "Mars Express," which just screened in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

This is a visually stunning 2D animated film with a fully realized sci-fi world, one that takes the fears and concerns of "Ghost in the Shell" and updates it to 2023 and the rise of A.I., as characters reflect and learn what it means to truly be human, whether cyborgs and robots can be alive, and what our place is in all of it. If it also sounds a lot like "Blade Runner," that's because the story plays out as a cyberpunk detective noir story. It is dense and overflowing with concepts and ideas, but also thrilling, with great action. The film has compelling drama and a world rich in lore and detail, and it is also just a lot of fun to watch. 

The story takes place mostly on Mars, with Earth now a slum. We follow private detective Aline Ruby and her partner Carlos Rivera — a robot reconstruction of Aline's dead partner — as they investigate a hacker accused of jailbreaking robots and cyborgs and freeing them from restrictions imposed by humans. What starts out as a simple case becomes complicated when Aline and Carlos find themselves in the crossfire of a big plot with huge consequences for both humanity and A.I.

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 This is not a case of imagining a wildly different futuristic world that will feel vastly outdated and fake in a few years, but something closer to the world we live in.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