Plot synopsis

Mars is what it says on the sign at the railway station of a small town in the Crimea. Mars is also the name of the nearby factory that once manufactured cuddly toys for the rest of the Soviet Union and where, at one time, practically the entire population of the town found employment. But that was long ago. This railway station is where a famous boxer named “Boris, the invincible” winds up in his bid to escape from himself and his past. He simply climbed on a train and set off. He didn’t care where he was going. He wakes up to discover a neon sign with the letters “M-A-R-S” blinking at him through the early morning mist. He will spend twenty-four hours in this place, during which he will change the lives of two of the town’s inhabitants forever. One of these people is a librarian named Greta, and the other is Grigorij, who is in love with Greta. When the visitor from Moscow comes between them, all at once, their lives turn a completely different corner… In this, her debut as a feature film director, young director Anna Melikian combines the bitter-sweet story of a love triangle with realistic details about life in today’s Russia.
Source : www.berlinale.de

Commentaries

Mars, d’Anna Melikian, Julien MORVAN, Perestroikino, 2020

Anna Melikian, Mars (2004), Yelena PROKHOROVA, kinokultura.com, 2005

Selected in the following festivals or events :

- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), 2009

- International Zurich Film Festival, Zurich (Switzerland), 2007

- Berlin International Film Festival : Berlinale, Berlin (Germany), 2005

- Warsaw Film Festival, Warsaw (Poland), 2005

- Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh (United Kingdom), 2005

- Film Festival of CIS countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia "Kinoshock", Anapa (Russia), 2004

- "Vyborg" Russian Film Festival ''A Window to Europe'', Vyborg (Russia), 2004

Photos and videos

Mars by Anna Melikyan ( with english subtitles) 2004 from Anna Melikyan on Vimeo.

Марс: фильм о фильме / Mars: Behind the Scenes (2004) from Anna Melikyan on Vimeo.