Watch the trailer for Mars Express. Set in the 23rd century on Mars, the plot follows the investigation on a murder case carried out by the couple formed by private investigator Aline Ruby and her android companion Carlos Rivera.

Fears of a future where artificial intelligence overpowers flesh-and-blood humans have always been a paramount tenet of sci-fi storytelling. And when these sentient robots closely resemble human behavior and exterior appearance (as in “Blade Runner” or “AI Artificial Intelligence”), then the conundrum of whether they should be granted human dignity rather than being seen as disposable presents itself. But the closer that such a hypothetical reality feels to our present — with generative AI threatening artistic creation, for example — the less likely it seems we will ever feel compassion for these entities.

French director Jérémie Périn’s cyberpunk mystery “Mars Express” manages to further complicate our sentiments with its dense yet satisfying world-building. A gripping, heady and refreshing 2D animated take on the perils of man and machine coexisting, Périn’s first feature as a director inserts the necessary exposition in a mostly natural manner so we incrementally become aware of how this reality functions. (via Variety)