Mars et Avril

It was luck that led me to discover this movie, a few years ago, as if it came to me in a strange way. I approached it without expecting anything, only driven by my curiosity for Quebec science-fiction cinema. What a confusing and beautiful experience it is to dive into the universe of Mars et Avril.

This first feature film from director Martin Villeneuve is a dreamy and poetic experience, juggling with so many philosophical and artistic references without ever falling into the free quote. It is easy to feel the deep love the director has for science fiction cinema and Franco-Belgian comics and there is something very touching about it, as he managed to work with the legendary François Schuiten (The Dark Cities).

It is certain that this film will not appeal to everyone, because it is a contemplative experience, which does not give the viewer all the keys to understanding, but if you let yourself be carried away by its strange and dreamy atmosphere, the experience will be wonderful.

What is really amazing about Mars et Avril is the fact that Martin Villeneuve and his teams managed to create such a visually impressive production with only 2.3 millions USD's budget. This great tour-de-force led him to the TED scene to talk about the creative process.

I highly recommend watching this first great Quebec science fiction film. Mars et Avril is rich, intriguing, fascinating and refreshingly poetic !

Perhaps my biggest problem with this movie were my high expectations due to a few reviews I read which highly appraised it. In my opinion the story, the core of which exhibits some potential, is its main flaw. Shallow, non-developing characters, missing plausibility, incoherent dialogs and confusing plots are disguised behind artsy (admittedly quite nice) sceneries, wonderful music and post-futuristic-combined-with-retro aesthetics. Which per se is not a problem, but it cannot substitute for the missing parts of the whole product. I understand that a low-budget sci-fi movie is a great challenge, but then again not every challenge must be taken. I have seen a fair amount of other low-budget sci-fi productions (e.g., from eastern Asia) with amazing performances, non-existing props, but excellent stories (notably with a philosophical extension). At least there the movie makers did not constantly flood the scenes with blue color, lit-up close-ups à la "It is time for my close up mr DeMill" and floor smoke like discos back in the 80's...

All in all, it is a waste of time unless you happen to be a huge fan of the Flash-Gordon or "a trip to the moon"-by-Georges-Melies type of movies and if you don't care about script coherence. The generous four stars are just for the atmosphere and the music.

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.

Embarrassingly bad, especially for a Quebecois film with Robert Lepage. Flat, uninteresting characters, weak story, weak and simple dialogue masquerading as profound, no plot to speak of...looks a lot of attention was paid to the bartenders' outfits, though....

I realize making a sci-fi on a limited budget is an immense challenge, but this seems like someone's vanity project; maybe they should have tried a short film to start.

And for a film with the main focus on music and musicians, it's a totally unremarkable, forgettable score.

Sometimes films remain obscure and off-the-radar for a good reason!! Pass, unless you're looking for s "hoot-fest"....