- Based on an acclaimed graphic novel, Mars & Avril is set in Montreal of the future, at the dawn of the first human landing on Mars, and tells the story of a musician who becomes obsessed with his muse.
- Montreal, the future. Elderly jazz musician Jacob Obus (Jacques Languirand) still draws in audiences with his mesmerizing performances, playing instruments based on female models, designed by his much younger pal Arthur (Paul Ahmarani). The latest model, intriguing artist Avril (Caroline Dhavernas), entices both Arthur and Jacob. In the resulting love triangle, the old musician is ultimately victorious and appears to be in love for the first time in his life. But then Avril is accidentally transported to Mars, where the first manned mission just happened to land. Enter Eugène Spaak (Robert Lepage), inventor, cosmologist and Arthur's father, who unveils a new theory about man's desire to reach Mars and helps Jacob find the true meaning of life and love.—Mars et Avril Inc.
- Jacob Obus (Jacques Languirand) is the toast of late-twenty-first-century Montreal, a 75-year-old jazz musician famous for the instruments he plays inspired by the female form. Those instruments are designed by Arthur Spaak (Paul Ahmarani) and built by Arthur's father Eugene (Robert Lepage), and Jacob makes it a rule never to speak to the models. Avril (Caroline Dhavernas) has different ideas; the beautiful young photographer seduces both Jacob and Arthur. Not Eugene, though - he's gone virtual and spends his spare time trying to convince scientists that Mars is imaginary, willed into existence by the collective consciousness, which may present issues for the three "marsonautes" en route.—Jay Seaver
- "Mars et Avril" is a sci-fi fantasy set in a futuristic Montreal. With the first manned mission to Mars as its backdrop, "Mars et Avril" follows three musical geniuses: Jacob Obus (Jacques Languirand), an aging jazz musician and legendary lothario; Eugene Spaak (veteran film and theatre director Robert Lepage), a late technological wizard who lives on in a cybernetic body; and Arthur (Paul Ahmarani), who builds instruments modeled after female bodies. Each of the three finds their lives altered by the appearance of the gorgeous young photographer, Avril.—Brenda Lieberman
- Fantasy, science fiction and romance combine in a visually astounding debut by artist and former Cirque du Soleil artistic director Martin Villeneuve, who has converted his eponymous graphic novel to the big screen and created an incredibly unique work. In the future, the lines between energy, music, dreams, time and reality are blurred - at least for renowned, aging musician Jacob Obus (Jacques Languirand), who enthralls audiences with unparalleled talent and quiet mystique. Jacob finds joy not in the women who adore him but in the instruments designed by Arthur Spaak (Paul Ahmarani) and built by Arthur's philosophical father, Eugene (Robert Lepage), a recluse who straddles life and death as part man, part hologram. The confluence of the first human convoy from the moon to Mars and the arrival of irresistible photographer April (Caroline Dhavernas) leads to an unlikely love triangle in this sepia-toned world where cosmology, music and love intertwine - and reality may be what you make it.—Alexis Whitham
- Jacob Obus is a 75 year old jazz musician, collapsing into darkness and isolation. He is world famous. His instruments are completely unique, not just in look, but in function. Each is modeled after a woman's body and he never speaks to the models. Obus blows on, strokes, fondles, and generally makes love to those bodies each time he plays the stage, symbolically speaking. Every instrument is special, played with various fingerings, combining woodwind, string and whatever it takes to recreate the woman's body. Each instrument reports a sound never heard before. And still he won't speak to any of the models. Until now...
Avril will not be turned away. She will experience all of Obus, inside and out. She turns the tables. Obus, while modeling for Avril, who is also photographer, is stripped naked and exposed. In his vulnerability, he confesses that the love he makes on stage is a ruse. He has never been with a woman, and alas we understand why he is isolated. She is moved, and they fall in love. Avril is also having an affair with Obus' instrument concept artist, Arthur, a much younger man. Arthur fights for Avril. He disparages his employer, and alleged friend, at every turn.
All the while, we are in communication with the world's first Marsonautes, who are traveling at relativistic speeds to the planet next door. It's fuzzy math time, as we are speaking to them live, even though they are supposed to be experiencing time dilation. Despite their training for the mission, time dilation is explained to them on camera. We also follow Eugène Spaak (Arthur's father and Jacob's friend), who theorizes about Mars and fabricates Obus' instruments in his makeshift laboratory. According to Spaak, music, women and the mysteries of the universe are tightly linked.
After finally finding love, Obus must lose it, as Avril has teleported to Mars to be the first woman Marsonaute. (She couldn't transport before now, because a capsule hadn't been placed on the other side until people landed on Mars.) A lovesick Obus, finally receiving the instrument modeled after Avril, finds that he cannot play it. At least not alone. Obus realizes he needs Arthur to play the instrument with him, and to love Avril. Together, they can both love her, without either possessing her.
Ultimately the journey leads inside one of the instruments (or is it inside the Red Planet?), where Obus finally makes the decision to trust his love for Avril and Arthur to fight against his own demon: loneliness. For the finale, we wonder if this entire experience is just Obus' death poem, or a love song, played with the rest of the band. In the end, it doesn't matter. "Mars et Avril" follows the foregone conclusion of the form: tragic loss and noble sacrifice for love, peppered with saccharine redemption.
"Mars et Avril" was filmed with a low budget, nearly volunteer wages for the visual effects team, and the coup of Canadian actor Robert Lepage's appearance in a starring role. This is so astounding, that director Martin Villeneuve has given a TED talk: Martin Villeneuve: How I made an impossible film (2013).
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