Mars One (2022) User Reviews

"Marte Um (Mars One)" delivers a surprising heartfelt, touching and realistic approach on family and Brazilian culture.

[chenp-54708 · 8/10 · 17 June 2022]

Originally premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition selection.

Marte Um (Mars One) is directed by Gabriel Martins and it's the story about The Martins family who are optimistic dreamers, quietly leading their lives in the margins of a major Brazilian city following the disappointing inauguration of a far-right extremist president. A lower-middle-class Black family, they feel the strain of their new reality as the political dust settles. Originally I had no interest on seeing this one because it sounded like a basic family movie that may be cheesy. But when it premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, I decided to give it a chance.

It surprised me honestly. There is a lot to appreciate about this movie. Director Gabriel Martins has definitely proved himself that he is talent with his movies when it comes to demonstrating family dynamics, characters and the approach on harsh reality. The camerawork is well shot throughout as it helped to display the atmosphere and environment of the movie's setting. Helps to build the character and understand them for what they are going through. All the performances are well done particular actors Carlos Francisco and Camilla Damião does an amazing job capturing the personality of their characters. The soundtrack is fitting and many moments were touching and quite satisfying at the end of the day.

Family dynamic films can be interesting and rough to watch depending how you view because every family has experience different ways of going through life and going through the hardships. But Director Martins succeeds with his family dramatic movie with heartfelt moments that may make you cry.

Wholesome.

Rating: A-

Beautiful contemporary Brazilian cinema

[diogoal-2 · 8/10 · 4 January 2023]

Poignant Brazilian film about the everyday struggle of a middle class black Brazilian family in Minas Gerais state. The characters are memorable, and so is the soundtrack, photography... The producer company ("Filmes de Plástico") is responsible for some of the best contemporary Brazilian coinema. Their titles usually deal in a very subdued way about the contradictions of Brazilian society - racism, poverty, homophobia -, as well as universal themes - love, family -, in a small-to-medium city landscape, such as Contagem, in Minas Gerais. This film is a far cry from the louder Brazilian films of the 80s or 90s, but not less creative for that.

Great film.

Mars of many!!!

[li0904426 · 8/10 · 7 April 2024]

The movie "Mars One" delves into the daily lives of a typical low-middle-class family residing in the urban landscape of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Against the backdrop of a far-right political change, the family grapples with their individual challenges and dreams enhancing their humanity and resilience.

What enhances the movie's authenticity and emotional impact is its depiction of a black family: the father working as a building janitor, the mother employed as a maid, their daughter juggling law studies and tutoring, and their teenage son's dreams of becoming an astrophysicist. In this context, the very good director and creator Gabriel Martins crafts parallel storylines for each character, which are bound to intertwine and intersect as the film unfolds.

The story unfolds around a father's ambition to nurture his son into a professional football player, a mother struggling with emotional trauma and a belief in her ability to bring bad luck to everyone around her, a daughter defying her parents' conservative ideals to follow her own path, and a son torn between fulfilling his father's expectations and pursuing his fascination with the cosmos. The movie's beauty emanates from the delicate, original, and authentic performances of each character, with Rejane Faria's portrayal of Tercia, the mother, deserving special recognition. She serves as the guiding force weaving together all these stories.

"Mars One" is a heartfelt film that portrays the lives of an ordinary family, discussing everyday experiences with a universal appeal. Its themes are relatable to families worldwide, irrespective of their cultural background. The movie beautifully illustrates that the dream of Mars transcends borders and is a shared aspiration for humanity as a whole.

More common than you think

[Victor_daSilva_ · 10/10 · 6 September 2022]

Daniel Rezende, great Brazilian director and editor (Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner), in an interview with the Falando de Nada podcast, spoke a very impactful sentence that really fits in this text: "we need to value our culture", so it must be said that Mars One (Marte Um) could not be the best choice of the Brazilian Academy of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts as a candidate for a spot in the Best International Film award at the 2023 Oscars. Mars One is about the purest Brazil, lived by each of the families in the more than five thousand municipalities in our territory. Non-Brazilian viewer, did you notice how Tércia's birthday is celebrated? With beautiful people dancing pagode while eating a sausage straight from the skewer. All that was missing was that it all happened on a slab. I've lost count of how many birthdays of mine have been celebrated like this! This is the Brazil of everyday life, and this is precisely the basic story of Mars One: the daily life of Brazilians, the culture of Brazilians.

During the session, I found myself wondering what was the problem with the film, what would be the driving force that would make this story move throughout its almost two hours of duration. It turns out that one of the first sentences of the film is a voice over from a radio announcing that Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of the country, in November 2018, and that in itself is already the biggest problem that a family like Deivinho's, that a family has. Family like mine could face. On the eve of yet another presidential election (the first round takes place in 26 days counting from today, September 6), it is impossible not to look at that period of 2018/19, which is portrayed in the film, without thinking that many of the problems we are experiencing is due to this election that is the start of the film. Deivinho, whose dream is to be an astrophysicist, is unfortunately located in a society that does not encourage studies, and his father, trapped in the estates of slavery revised in his work as a doorman, only sees a possible future for his son through football. After that night at the end of the movie, where everyone sleeps under the stars, how many problems did Deivinho face and still face today, in 2022, to pursue his dream career?

With the problem in mind, what obstacles will the characters face? Nothing too fancy or Hollywood, because believe me when I say that living in Brazil is enough of an obstacle. Nobody knows when they will be the victim of a TV prank, I myself have always been terrified of finding Ivo Holanda in the middle of the street (anyone who knows Ivo Holanda knows!). The issue of the daughter leaving home is a pain that no family wants to face. You may ask yourself "ah, but all families in the world go through the story of their children leaving home", and I reply saying that in Brazil it is different, and the way the film portrays it is exquisite.

I imagine that Mars One may not be nominated for an Oscar, and if nominated, he may not win, but this movie deserves you to see it, whether you are Brazilian or not. We need to value our culture, and this film is the best showcase of its culture that Brazil in 2022 can offer the world.

Very emotional and not like everything I've ever seen

[bernardofbaraldi · 10/10 · 21 September 2022]

I won't go on details here since I've already written a full review of the movie , I will keep this short and simple, this movie does what I have never seen be done in any other movie, it depicts reality in a very precise way making the viewer feel every emotion the characters are supposedly feeling. This movie shows what it is like living in Brazil while also being emotional and relatable for those who have never lived there , it inspires the viewers to pursue their achievements and dreams without being cheesy or cliche like most Hollywood movies you see today. This movie is an absolute master piece and I will be watching it many more times.

A Slice Of Everyday Life In Brazil's Middle Class Populace

[CinemaClown · 25 February 2023]

Dramatising the social upheaval among Brazil's poor while their country teeters on the edge of democracy, Mars One paints a fascinating portrait of a lower-middle-class black family feeling the strain of their new reality and delivers as a finely carved slice of everyday life that's further strengthened by sincere performances from the quartet that make the household.

Written & directed by Gabriel Martins, the story is character-driven and benefits a lot from the full-fledged personalities inhabiting the script, each bestowed with tangible identities which in turn also makes the audience want to invest in their journey. Through their personal struggle & desires, the film addresses various topics & themes prevalent in families living on the outskirts.

All four characters are given equal priority & sufficient screen time by the director and despite the tone being grim & heartbreaking, it still manages to find some wickedly hilarious scenes in the process. As with every family drama, it is the conflicts & relationships with each other that drives the narrative and the actors play their roles convincingly, both individually & as a family unit.

Overall, Mars One is competently crafted & patiently told but whether it's going to work for you or not depends a lot on how invested you are in their lives & problems. Otherwise, its slow pace & meandering plot can make it a chore to sit through. Not everything lands right, for the proper cohesiveness of all the subthreads isn't there but there is ample that viewers can connect with one way or another.

A rare movie

[luismcdbrito · 9/10 · 20 February 2023]

The Brazilian movies that become international rarely show a view of their middle class. We can almost see the middle class subdivision.

Brasil is a country with a very open mind and mentality were tabus almost don't exist. Exept when you are talking about football.

This movie is not just the power of dreams but the clash beetween diferent dreams were diferent but similar personalities interact. The past the present and the future that help to build that dreams showing how much the world changed in 3 generations.

In a overcrowed society the ammount of good people looks like a miracle.

Everything somehow fits perfectly on the narrative and in the end felt that, if this was a 5 hour movie I still want to watch a little bit more.

Brilliant.

Misses the Mark, A Predictable and Boring Drama

[AxelAzzopardi · 4/10 · 10 April 2023]

Despite some solid performances, the movie suffers from a slow and unentertaining pace, making it hard to stay invested in the characters' lives.

The family dynamic in Brazil provides an interesting backdrop, but the story itself feels uneven and conventional. Some plotlines are engaging, but others fall flat, leaving the audience wishing for more. The camera angles are calm and measured, but they do little to enhance the overall experience.

While the actors do their best with the material, there's little that sets this movie apart from countless others that explore similar themes. By the third act, the predictability of the plot becomes frustrating, and the attempts at emotional manipulation feel cheap.

The movie's portrayal of an alcoholic father falling off the wagon feels like a tired trope, and it's hard not to feel a sense of aggression toward the filmmakers for resorting to such a hackneyed plot device.

Ultimately, "Mars One" fails to deliver on its promises and feels completely overrated.

Not a movie. Political propaganda by ppl that know nothing about Brazil.

[enricogomes · 1/10 · 5 February 2024]

This movie is a clear example of how rich Brazilians that live in other countries their whole life and barely ever go to Brazil see the country they are supposedly from. This is a ridiculous bag of political propaganda from a POV that says nothing about Brazil other than how rich and favored Brazilians love to dramatize their country from afar. And how they love to talk about realities they have no idea of. This is not a movie. This is an excuse to make political propaganda against a democratic elected President. Do not waste your time watching it.

The movie tells NOTHING about the Brazilian middle class. To begin with most of Brazilian middle class was in favor of the last president. It is ridiculous how Brazil's "intellectual elite" exploit their favored position to sell a completely fake idea of what was happening in the country. Democracy was well as strong and the country was thriving.

These "directors" were just angry because most of the public money they used to travel around the world was cut. It is a sad reality when a country has its artistic class so depended and immorally linked to a political party that they are unable to create anything independent that could ever be considered real art. Sad. That is why Brazil will never have good movies other than some few accidental works that end up making sense (usually against their original intent - such as Tropa de Elite).