Mars et Avril

I think this film is exquisite and intelligent. Perhaps not made for the ordinary moviegoer and maybe a little bit too long, but certainly brilliant in its context and perfect visually. One must pay attention to detail to appreciate the depth of this artwork. Costumes, make up and hair did a magnificent job creating a "futuristic" look. What does the future hold? How will we dress, what will we drink, what will we do? The music and sound effects are magnificent, the visual effects are extraordinary. Futuristic Montreal is quite beautiful. Art department created a warmth that is perfectly in sync with the slow drawn out feeling of this new universe. If our future it is anything like this film where beauty and thought, where love and passion seem to be the principal motivators, I am looking forward to it. To appreciate the film, one must also listen carefully to the discourse about music, the universe and time and about love and beauty. I believe this film should be watched more than once.

I saw this sci-fi film at the Mill Valley Festival when it came out, watched it again recently on Amazon and thought it was refreshing, poetic, inspiring, intelligent and highly imaginative. A living comic book that doesn't take itself too seriously, or a modern Georges Méliès' film, a futuristic, steam-punk audiovisual feast! It's an amazing accomplishment and you can see that the filmmaker put a whole lot of love in every frame. Everything about it is different from the regular type of films that are out there and it has some rather unusual ideas about the soul and person that completes us. At its core, it's a love story, a poetic tale, a dream on celluloid. To me, this film is of the same genre as those of two favourite filmmakers of mine: Terry Gilliam and Luc Besson.

I can't say enough what an incredible feat in filmmaking I think "Mars & Avril" is. It's stunningly beautiful and haunting, and like nothing I've ever seen. I grew up reading Carl Sagan so I'm an easy target for themes of spiritualism and space. His point was always that humanism and astrophysics aren't mutually exclusive, and this film says this in a very unique way. I'm really amazed at how completely the filmmaker realized this future culture, down to the architecture, fashion and music. The way he conceived the idea of music in the future, informed by and informing physics and science as we know it; the evolution of musical instruments and sounds; the cosmic, almost religious implications of music that have taken hold in this future society; it was all so beautifully imagined. The way he took science fiction and used it not to create wild action sequences and wars, but an emotional love story, really changed the way I now think about the genre.

Heavily relying on green screens, "Mars & Avril" is set in a futuristic Montreal, a place that greatly resembles "Blade Runner"'s Los Angeles or "The Fifth Element"'s NYC, a dreamy future city reminiscent of comics anthology 'Metal Hurlant', yet with something new. On a purely aural and visual level, I wouldn't hesitate to call this film visionary. Some of the images made me feel transported to the furthest depths of an alien realm. It's a mirror, a tilted cheval glass, a digital reflection of a damaged dimension, surreal and moving. For English-speaking audiences, I found watching the film with subtitles actually enhanced the French and Belgian-inspired "bande dessinée" aspect of it, so it didn't bug me at all. Worth watching more than once to catch all the subtleties of the plot and visual details.

What's most incredible is that the director, Martin Villeneuve (yes, Denis Villeneuve's younger brother), managed to achieve such a quality with a budget of only 2 million... and it was his first feature! It took him seven years. "How I made an impossible film" is a TED Talk by Martin, also worth watching. His talk details the walls he hit with budget and other creative constraints. But he survived, and so did "Mars & Avril", thankfully. I can't wait to see his next films! In my opinion, this one deserves a wider distribution (including a Blu-Ray, please!) and to score above 8 on IMDb. This little gem of a film will be rediscovered once the director has made his first Hollywood hit.

For the record, it's worth mentioning that Martin did "violence-free, philosophical sci-fi" with "Mars & Avril" four years before his older brother Denis did with "Arrival", and for 25 times less money, stretching each dollar to unbelievable heights. And for all those wowed by Denis' "Blade Runner 2049", I highly recommend his younger brother's equally mind-blowing sci-fi epic "Mars & Avril".

Yes, this is not a perfect movie, I didn't give 10 stars for achievement. I gave it for pure directing talent. You need to understand Quebec's movie industry. The mainstream movies here benefit heavily from financial government support. Mainstream movies here have average scenarios at best, and most of the time the acting is theatrical when it's not sub par. Even with some of the best paid actors here in the french province. Probably it's all under the influence of a group of people who don't really care about passion and quality.

Not so with this particular picture. Compared with the rest of the local productions, this film is pure bliss. Actually, without being partisan, this picture reminds of one of the best Quebec's directors, Robert Lepage. He also has a role in the film. Actually, Lepage is a genius born at the wrong place where he doesn't receive the deserved recognition. Will Martin Villeneuve be luckier?

I extremely enjoyed this movie. I personally do not like slow rhythm movies but I confess I didn't even forward a second. The actors were great the concepts and symbolism all over the movie scenes challenged my mind to think more deeper. The story connected love,music and infinity together. The only lame part was that elevator. it could be sth else. It was more cooler that that girl only existed in Jacob's dream and he could bring her back to reality. It is one of the few movies that show consciousness as a whole new world yet not fully discovered by human. I strongly recommend this movie. I am not an expert to criticize the movie but in general it was a really nice effort and i don't get why its ranking is not over7.

that view from the top of the stairs that looked like an infinite spiral was amazing. The ending can be interpreted in many ways. I want to accept that Avril stays alive in real world but there is also the possibility that the real reality was that one Jacob traveled to at the end so he dies and leaves the virtual reality.

A love story of purity, expressions of perception inverted from reality, Misunderstood emotions, immature minds mixing with old souls. Substitution, simulacra and discovery. Personification, possibility, Potential.

The child, caught up in materialism, The father with eyes towards the "impossible"; the lovers, avatars for everything and nothing at the same time caught in a triangle of the mistaken witness, an iteration of soul out of time and place, yet required to bridge the connection now.

A pursuit of an experience, beyond the mundane, the ordinary. Simple mechanics, yet unexpected results; but what is possible, if you just believe. Or, failing that, just sit and allow what is, to unfold. However, be-careful what you wish for, You may not understand how to cope with the results. A being such, a moment when, a thought unspoken, create the unexpected, within the realms of the expected impossibility.

If you believe, you may be blessed with the witness to see, or else the comfort of knowing you contributed to the next iteration.

In a pique of contrasting thought; As much as DUNE is about a Saviour role, this is about the individual. With no group expectation. What is possible for a single soul, with few constraints and a lost purpose? A bitter sweet ending for a love unknown, recently discovered and forever lost except to impossible memory... and that's not even right way to express the messy triangle....

*Triangle; doesn't play as the typical dynamic until the *scoff* just before the subconscious feedback.

*I found the discourse between father and son, a little forced at points. To do justice to their relationship, they needed more screen time.

The 'disbelief' factor .... lost me at about 1hr10 minutes.... i get lost with the technical (visual storytelling) 'subconscious' interpretations of 'unconscious' interpretations by others.

Though the following instrument scene at least is anchored well, and gave me a point to anchor myself to again.

Thank you for doing this story. Though it introduces choices I'm still not familiar with, nor ready to contemplate; and thus, leaves me as confused as when i began... the expression of that moment, is enough to sooth my soul a little. A reminder of what was, what is, what will be. The story of connection, of recognition beyond the basic story line. The power of potential. ::hugs:: now i have to go find a box of klenex or a roll of toilet paper, or my shirt if it comes to that. I'm not crying, You're crying! 😛

It might not have had the same budget (as Dune, and other Big Budget films), with sets and scenery at moments reminiscent of an Art House project, but its arguably just as important in the histories of SciFi gospels. (I need to find my copy and watch it again, in fact; now that i have found the story again. See where it fits, so i may better discuss its contents.)

But there is a key within, for those who find, that unlocks the most wonderful and frightening doorway of the mind/soul. We need these keys to be continually produced, for there are many who would have them destroyed, for the freedom such keys give to a person. This freedom is scary to any form of uniformity and homogeneity. Yet it allows all things to be possible, if you so desire and your desire is true.

---- Slow burn intro, especially if one is not familiar with the different schools of philosophical thought and unable to pickup the subtly blunt almost too on the nose interpretations of the characters roots. But pacing, is a personal thing; so never take a reviewers opinion about such things, unless you're familiar with and agree with their previous or existing expressions. I myself, enjoy a slow burn. As cold as I may be, one thing i learned from nearly freezing to death, a slow burn is better than a flash burn, if you want to get through every bit of fuel to heat energy ratio. If you're used to tossing aside unspent moments, disregarded and unappreciated. Like spare change from a transaction; you may not enjoy this story. But, if you're familiar with the amount of effort it takes to deliver quality, take this one for a spin. At the very least, its some time spent watching a fun scifi story.