‘Mars One’ Review: A Starry-Eyed, Soft-Hearted Brazilian Family Drama With More Bounce Than Bite
variety.comJessica Kiang We have only just settled into the genial rhythms of Gabriel Martins’ “Mars One,” meeting one by one the loving, yearning family of four at its heart when, like capable, brassy matriarch Tércia (Rejane Faria), we get a shock to the system.
Sitting at a lunch counter, Tércia is trying to ignore the ranting of a homeless man behind her. “Brazil is not for amateurs!” he bellows, and she shifts, more irritated than alarmed, until the man pulls out a bomb.
The other diners flee, but Tércia remains rooted in horror as it explodes.That this apparent terrorist attack is actually just a particularly nasty prank being pulled by a TV crew, is immediately revealed, though Tércia remains traumatized even when her family laugh off her experience at dinner that night.
And the fake-out can’t help but feel a little similar to Martins’ film in its entirety: Despite a prologue situating it in the immediate aftermath of the 2018 election that saw far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro assume Brazil’s presidency, “Mars One” is far less politically explosive than gently, humanely implosive.
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