Pendant ce temps sur Terre

Sometimes, watching a movie makes you speechless.

Sometimes, those worlds live on in your mind instead.

This second feature from Jérémy Clapin pushes every single part of the medium further. From the acting, the directing, the music, the sound, everything in this piece works in perfect harmony to create something that is not only gripping and fascinating, but containing profound philosophical questions - and even more troubling answers.

The ticking time bomb of this film hinges on a central idea: what is the value of a life? A trolley problem of sorts engages you in this disturbing question, made even more powerful when turned inwards by the protagonist: i.e., what is the value of MY life?

It's an alien movie that lives in the space in between thoughts, some galaxy between your emotions that make them bounce around expertly, right up to this ending you can't help but fear is coming.

It's an alien movie about life, about death, about grief, about loss, about what is lost and what will never be found again. People in the room with me where crying all the way through, and I caught myself shaking in my seat, feeling queasy by the midpoint.

I have no more words to express how moved I've been by this. It is truly special. Seeing this at Fantasia film festival, it felt like watching a masterpiece before anyone else. GO WATCH THIS MOVIE. It's the best of the year, and it'll be the best I'll see in a long, long time.

Pendant Ce Temps Sur Terre (or Meanwhile On Earth for the English title) is a French/Belgian movie from writer/director Jérémy Clapin, certainly worth a watch if you like good cinematography, accompanied by a good soundtrack and decent acting. I would have scored it with a seven if it was not for the ending that I found a bit disappointing. For that alone I score it lower, as it was, in my opinion, not satisfying enough. But for the rest it's an interesting story, easy to watch and to understand. A bit of sci-fi fantasy without special effects, just a solid story. Too bad the ending wasn't better.

Astronaut Franck Martens disappeared three years ago while on a space mission. His sister, Elsa, still finds it difficult to accept the fact he simply vanished. A Statue has also been erected in Franck's honour.

Then one day Elsa is contacted by an alien, who assures her Franck is alive and safe, but they require five human bodies in order to let him go, unharmed. She is also allowed to speak to him, to confirm he is still alive. Now, Elsa has three days to find five people to lure to a specific spot in the woods where their bodies will be taken over by alien entities. Elsa decides to be selective, but when time runs out, she becomes desperate.

If you're expecting to see aliens here, you won't. We simply hear an alien voice, giving Elsa instructions. Also, don't expect to find space ships here. This is not your conventional alien movie. Very different indeed. The abrupt ending left me craving for more.

The film has many underlying themes. How do you justify four lives for one? How do you choose? 'Meanwhile on Earth' is so much more than an 'alien' movie, but the lack of aliens might disappoint some viewers.

I just barely found out about Meanwhile on Earth a few hours ago and decided to buy a ticket and go in blind. As unorthodox as this film was, the overall atmosphere is mostly what i expected. That's not to say it was predictable or bad. I just had an inkling this would be way more soft science fiction rather than something crazy and epic. I wasn't fully enthralled by the story, which sometimes felt meandering and lethargic but the visual style for the film deserves all sorts of praise and accolades. My lord, it was beautiful. I also quite enjoyed the relative originality to the story at the very least. It's not a perfect film but it definitely a low key and singular exercise that succeeds on a small scale. I have a feeling that I'll revisit it when it comes to streaming.

B-

Elsa Martens (Megan Northam) is a young adult whose life takes on an unexpected turn after an unknown life form makes contact with her claiming to be able to bring her older brother back after his mysterious disappearance from a space mission.

Writer and director Jérémy Clapin is more interested in human dilemmas than in the usual sci-fi motives. Pendant ce temps sur Terre has a weak beginning where it is not clear where it wants to go but once it gets there its form is already recognizable.

It poses existential questions about what is the value of life and if there is truth in that there are lives worthier than others. Through Elsa, the movie explores purpose and how it can change an individual's worldview. It also gives emotional weight to longing and what constitutes the loss of a loved one.

Its cinematography blends animation with live action creating a differentiated treatment in terms of narrative and dramatic expressiveness. Pendant ce temps sur Terre is one of those movies that has memorable scenes but they are in contrast with the ones where lack of ambition renders them unextraordinary.