Mars and April

Mars and April

Year: 2012

Runtime: 91 mins

Language: French

Director: Martin Villeneuve

Drama

As humanity prepares for a Mars mission, elderly musician Jacob Obus finds solace in playing unique instruments inspired by the female form, creations of his friend Arthur. A complicated love triangle emerges when both Jacob and Arthur become captivated by Avril, a young photographer. Eugène Spaak, Arthur’s father and a renowned inventor and cosmologist, introduces a groundbreaking theory about the human drive to explore Mars and guides Jacob toward a deeper understanding of love and life’s meaning.

Melancholic
Bittersweet ending
Moderately emotional
Medium intensity
Slow pacing
Complex story

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Timeline & Setting – Mars and April (2012)

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Time period

Near future

Set in a near-future era when interplanetary travel to Mars is feasible and time dilation is part of space missions. Relativistic travel and live updates from Marsonaute teams blur the line between objective science and subjective experience. Across Earth and Mars, relationships are tested by distance and the possibility of eternal devotion.

Location

Earth, Mars, Stage, Spaak's Laboratory

Earth is the urban, musical home of the world-famous 75-year-old jazz musician Obus, a place where fame amplifies his loneliness. The live stage and his private workshop blend performance with intimate, symbolic interactions with instrument models. Mars represents the frontier of space exploration where time dilation complicates relationships as Marsonaute missions unfold in real-time. Intersecting spaces like the stage and Spaak's laboratory anchor a story that fuses art, science, and love.

🌍 Earth 🚀 Space travel 🎭 Stage 🧪 Laboratory

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:22

Main Characters – Mars and April (2012)

Meet the key characters of Mars and April (2012), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Jacob Obus

A 75-year-old jazz legend whose instruments are sculpted to resemble women's bodies. He speaks rarely, and his art is a quiet form of intimacy that keeps others at a distance. His vulnerability surfaces when Avril enters his life and his isolation is forced into the open as he confronts the limits of love and presence.

🎷 Jazz 💔 Loneliness 🎨 Art

Avril (Caroline Dhavernas)

A photographer who challenges Obus's detachment and becomes the catalyst for a transformative romance. She asserts agency, even as she navigates a complex love triangle with Obus and Arthur. Her encounter with the instruments and the Mars mission pushes her to take bold, boundary-crossing steps.

📷 Photography ❤️ Love 🧭 Liberation

Arthur (Paul Ahmarani)

A younger instrument concept artist who fights for Avril and questions the authority of his employer. His presence adds tension to the love triangle and his creative talent helps shape Obus's instruments. He embodies desire, loyalty, and the drive to secure his place in Avril's life.

🎨 Art 🧪 Science 💘 Love

Eugène Spaak (Robert Lepage)

Obus's friend and Arthur's father, a keen theorist about Mars who builds instruments in a makeshift lab. He posits that music, women, and cosmic mysteries are tightly linked, guiding the story's scientific curiosity and poetic imagination.

🧪 Science 🧭 Space 🎭 Artist

Marsonaute no. 1 (Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais)

One of the Mars-traveling crew members; their mission explores relativistic travel and the perception of time. The live dialogue with Earth demonstrates the tension between training and lived experience.

🚀 Space 🕰️ Time 🌌 Exploration

Marsonaute no. 2 (Pierre Leblanc)

A second crew member aboard the Mars mission who offers perspectives on the experiment's demands and the human stakes of space exploration. The crew's dynamics reveal the personal costs of long-distance discovery.

🚀 Space 🕰️ Time 🌌 Exploration

Marsonaute no. 3 (Richard Robitaille)

The third member of the Mars team whose viewpoints contribute to the ensemble's understanding of relativistic time and the mission's philosophical implications.

🚀 Space 🕰️ Time 🌌 Exploration

Pneumatologue (Jean Marchand)

A professional involved in the Pneumatologue's research; a figure representing the scientific lens through which the Mars mission and instrument fabrication are interpreted.

🔬 Science 🧩 Innovation

Arlequin (Gabriel Gascon)

A performer or figure within the instrument world; his presence adds theatrical symbolism to the evolving relationship between Obus and his art, blurring lines between character and construct.

🎭 Theater 🌀 Symbolism

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:22

Major Themes – Mars and April (2012)

Explore the central themes of Mars and April (2012), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💔 Love vs Loneliness

The romance between Obus and Avril tests whether love can overcome a lifetime of isolation. Artfully deployed instruments become both affection and barrier, echoing Obus's tendency to keep others at arm's length. Avril's intervention disrupts the pattern, revealing vulnerability and a desire for shared intimacy. The theme culminates in sacrifice and a redefinition of connection beyond possession.

🎨 Art and Identity

The instruments modeled after women's bodies blur the line between art and object, raising questions about desire, creation, and ownership. Spaak's workshop and Obus's stage enact a dialogue where music, sculpture, and performance fuse into a single identity. Avril's photography reframes the subject, challenging the artist's control over representation. The narrative treats art as a force that wounds, heals, and binds people together.

🕰️ Time and Connection

Time dilation and live communication with Marsonaute crews complicate how characters experience time and love. The narrative juxtaposes instantaneous messages with the slow passage of personal aging, creating a bittersweet tension. The pursuit of Mars becomes a metaphor for navigating distance and longing. Ultimately, time is reframed as a shared, negotiable medium for love.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 12:22

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Mars and April Summary

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