In the animated film “Mars Express” by Jérémie Périn, Léa Drucker is in “Blade Runner” mode

Futuristic film reminiscent of “Blade Runner” and with impressive aesthetics, this first animated film, selected both at Cannes and at the Annecy festival, is carried by the voices of Léa Drucker, Mathieu Amalric and Daniel Njo Lobé.

Animated cinema “allows a hyper complex, rich and dense imagination”argues Léa Drucker, happy to be on display Wednesday, November 22 of Mars Express, science fiction thriller which should delight fans of a genre that is still rare in French production. Selected this year in Cannes and Annecy, this first feature film by Jérémie Périn, intended for an adult and adolescent audience, propels spectators into the year 2200 on Noctis, capital of the red planet, colonized by humans and their robots.

Futuristic movie

Léa Drucker lends her voice to Aline, an alcoholic detective who, helped by her android teammate, engages in a race against time to find a cybernetics student involved in a vast conspiracy. “I was excited by the characters, the image, and the desire to do something new”explained to AFP, in June, in Annecy, this fan of a genre which “brings lots of philosophical and metaphysical questions”.

Futuristic film reminiscent Blade Runner and impressive aesthetics, Mars Express has nothing to envy of American blockbusters in live action. However, its placement in orbit was by no means obvious. The rare directors of animated films who have dabbled with science fiction, like René Laloux (The wild planet) all had “a lot of difficulty getting them financed”, recalled Jérémie Périn to AFP.

“Class contempt” affecting animated cinema

But he and his co-writer Laurent Sarfati were able to benefit from a “carte blanche” after the success of their series Lastmanadapted from the eponymous comic strip, to explore the worlds and themes that influenced their youth. “We had a little lack, a little frustration with this type of film currently”science fiction often being only “strewn throughout superhero films”related Jérémie Périn. “The scientific side is increasingly forgotten, replaced by the wave of a magic wand,” added Laurent Sarfati.

Acclaimed in Annecy, Jérémie Périn took the opportunity to regret the “class contempt” affecting, according to him, animated cinema at the Cannes Film Festival. It remains to be seen how his film will be received in theaters. “From 200,000 entries, we are happy”summarized Jérémie Périn, also banking on the “second life” of the film in the news “video club” what are streaming platforms. “Blade Runner or The Thing didn’t do so well when they came out and yet now they are references”he argued.