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‘Mars Express’ Review: Thrilling Cyberpunk Mystery Warns of a Future Conflict Between Humans and AI
Jérémie Périn takes to another planet for 'Mars Express,' whose weighty ideas and sleek hand-drawn animation make for a stimulating combination.
That the heroine here, Aline (Morla Gorrondona), is a pragmatic female police officer investigating the murder of an alleged hacker instantly invokes obvious comparisons with Mamoru Oshii’s seminal “Ghost in the Shell.” Then there’s the character design, which reads somewhere between anime and a comic book, even if deliberately more realistic here. These details about the irremediably quotidian nuisances and struggles elevate Périn and co-writer Laurent Sarfati’s screenplay with both humor and insight, suggesting that no matter how advanced technology becomes, there are inescapable desires and pains. As “Mars Express” unspools, a handful of strong visuals references come to mind, such as French electronic duo Daft Punk’s animated long-form music video/animated feature “Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem,” a sci-fi project made in Japan.
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