News from Planet Mars (2016) User Reviews

Enjoyable and valuable

[pedrokolari · 7/10 · 4 June 2017]

A simple story about an average nice and decent guy who is victimized by everybody around him (the meek not so blessed). Excellent acting by the whole cast and good rhythm, with a comedic tone which borders on but does not turn into outright farce.

But against this entertaining backdrop there are some serious themes, such as cruelty to animals, vegetarianism and the recruitment of youngsters for extremist causes. Also, more generally, the changing values, aspirations and fears over three generations. The older generation represented by imaginary dialogue between the protagonist and his dead parents. Imaginary but somehow realistic. How many of us have imagined such dialogue? (I have).

I liked less the unnecessarily cruel scene where he throws the little dog into the river. Perhaps a tragic comment that at his breaking point he takes it out on the most innocent and defenseless of his "aggressors". There is also a Hollywood-esque climax complete with a narrowly missed explosion. But overall it ends on a (moderately) hopeful note.

Quirky French comedy about family bonds and self respect. Slowburning, gentle and occasionally incredibly funny.

[imseeg · 7/10 · 25 January 2019]

The French are quite good at these subtle melancholic comedies, which are mostly funny because of the bizarre conflicts people get themselves into. This picture is about a nice and very kind man, who gets suckered into giving shelter to a mentally disturbed collegue who had accidentally attacked him with an axe at work. Yes, you read it correctly. Sounds bizarre, yet despite the (accidental) axe attack this kind and gentle father of two kids, decides to take the mentally disturbed collegue into his house anyway. Then (hilarious) troubling events start occuring when this mental patient starts taking over the household. The household disasters are building up in ever more hilarious severity.

The core of this story has a true to life ring to it, basically portraying (with witty detail) a divorced father, who is trying to raise his two teenage kids as good as he can. Things get really complicated though when the mentally disturbed collegue is overstaying his welcome in his house. Just a lovely quirky French melancholic comedy, best suited for an arthouse audience or for those who love this typical French kind of understated humor.

a comedy without much wit, fun or joy

[myriamlenys · 2/10 · 4 December 2017]

Belgium has produced a number of delightful comedies but "News from the planet Mars" sure as hell doesn't fall in this category : it is a deeply unfunny movie full of half-baked ideas, shallow concepts, WTF dialogue and unpleasant characters. Watching the movie is very much like sitting in the waiting room at the dentist's, if the dentist were located somewhere in the murkier corners of Purgatory.

Pretty despicable : the ease with which cruelty towards dogs is treated. Throwing a dog from a bridge is funny because it's a little yapping dog and everybody knows that little yapping dogs deserve everything humans can think of in the way of torture and killing.

Once I used to have a colleague (now many years dead, poor soul) who took a dim view of humanity and who was in the habit of saying : "If they ever develop a rocket capable of traveling to Mars, I'll be one of the first passengers". I understood what she meant and after seeing the movie I understand it even better.

A French comedy with very little laughter

[ayoreinf · 8/10 · 12 July 2016]

It's a comedy that settles for smiles, mostly wry ones. A story of a would be loser (once again - I don't believe there's such a thing, but people do use the term). Kind sensitive and unable to say no for real. Everybody around him knows it, and they all take advantage of it. Pushing his life into a surreal spin, in which reality itself loses touch with reality.

It takes some very good acting, a carefully balanced plot - it could easily slip into an all out farce, and that, obviously, wasn't the intention of Dominik Moll - the director and of Gilles Marchand who helped him with the script. The line between sanity and common sense is also being blurred, in the best way. I think this kind of dual balance is best kept in French comedies. There are similar stories being made elsewhere - they end up over the fine lines that this film succeeds not to cross. It does makes you think, what's a loser, is it so bad being one. Who's insane who isn't and who lives in a bigger cage.