Review: 'My Notes on Mars' Blends Grief and Sci-Fi in Venice Premiere
Lili Horvat's 'My Notes on Mars' stars Mackenzie Davis and Rupert Friend as a couple confronting an unimaginable crisis. The film, which opens the Venice Days strand, blends cerebral science fiction with themes of grief and marital discord. The review describes it as an audacious and evocative work that defies easy categorization.
The film marks Lili Horvat's first feature shot largely in English, following her previous work "Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time," which similarly explored psychological unease and neurological themes. Running 1 hour 46 minutes, the production consulted M.I.T. scholar Gaia Stucky de Quay to ensure the mathematical and planetary science elements appeared authentic on screen. The cast includes Mackenzie Davis, known for "Speak No Evil," and Rupert Friend from "The Phoenician Scheme," alongside Hungarian actors Szabolcz Thuroczy and Zoltan Gyongyosi. The story follows Margot, a former academic who abandoned her planetary science career to support her husband Sam's horse-breeding passion in Hungary, with their relationship strained before an Alpine excursion goes disastrously wrong.
This film could resonate with audiences navigating grief and fractured relationships, offering a cerebral alternative to conventional sci-fi blockbusters. Its Venice Days premiere may elevate Horvat's international profile and spark conversations about how genre cinema can address deeply personal human experiences. The blending of mathematical abstraction with emotional turmoil may appeal to art-house viewers while challenging mainstream expectations of both science fiction and marital drama.