In Paris, the forty-nine-year-old computer engineer Philippe Mars (François Damiens) is a good and respectful man; however, he is not respected. When his abusive ex-wife needs to go to Brussels, she leaves their seventeen-year-old daughter Sarah Mars (Jeanne Guittet) and thirteen-year-old son Grégoire "Greg" Mars (Tom Rivoire) with their dirty clothes without any previous note. Both teenagers are dysfunctional, and Greg is fanatic vegetarian now and the unrealistic Sarah expects to have a great job after graduation. Philippe's boss explores and asks him to absorb the work of the unstable and psychotic Jérôme (Vincent Macaigne) despite Phillipe is overloaded. When Jérôme has a breakdown in the office, he throws a machete cutting a piece of Phillipe's ear that goes on surgery for re-implanting. He visits the art gallery of his sister Fabienne "Xanaé" Mars (Olivia Côte) and sees that she is selling paintings of his parents naked with exposed genitals to make money. But soon his life turns upside-down when Jérôme flees from the psychiatric hospital and seeks shelter at his apartment. Phillippe is incapable to say no to him; The crazy co-worker brings his crush from the institution, Chloé (Veerle Baetens), to stay in his apartment. Soon Xanaé leaves her annoying dog without his permission in his apartment. The chaos in his life forces Philippe to change his attitude towards life.
"Des nouvelles de la planète Mars", a.k.a. "News from Planet Mars" (2016), is a French Belgian movie with obnoxious characters and unfunny comedy. Maybe this kind of wit humor works for Europeans but is not so good for most of the Brazilians, I believe. This is the second film that I have recently seen with the weirdo Vincent Macaigne in another movie ("Les deux amis") and this French actor seems to be specialist in strange roles, maybe because of his appearance. The film would work better as a serious drama with modifications in the screenplay and characters, but never with comedy the way it is. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Más Notícias para o Sr. Mars" ("Bad News for Mr. Mars")
