Whenever a filmmakerlands a breakout title, fans can’t help but look forward to whatever their follow-up will be. For French directorJérémy Clapinthis title isMeanwhile On Earth. Clapin rose to prominence after his animated movieI Lost My Bodywas nominated for an Oscar in 2020. Now, the director is making his live-action feature film debut with this thriller that premieres in theaters on September 13.
The trailer forMeanwhile On Earthisshrouded in mystery. The story centers around a woman named Elsa (Megan Northam), the sister of an astronaut whodisappeared under suspicious circumstances. While Elsa and her family become divided between grieving Franck (Sébastien Pouderoux) or hold on to the hope that maybe he’ll return, an entirely unexpected event occurs: Elsa is suddenly able to communicate with Franck through a seed that she places inside her ear.
The situation only gets more complicated once Franck starts giving hints of his whereabouts to his sister. From the looks of it,dark forcesare preventing him from returning, and it doesn’t seem like there’s anything anyone can do about it. Whether those forces are supernatural orextraterrestrial, we’ll have to check out the movie to fully discover, but it sure looks like a haunting and intriguing ride.
‘Meanwhile On Earth’ Has Similarities With Jérémy Clapin’s Previous Works
Meanwhile On Earthis completely on brand for Clapin, whose body of work frequently deals with unusual themes that questionwhat exactly makes us human. In his previous animated short filmSkhizein, a man gets hit by a meteor and suddenly starts having a sort of out-of-body experience. InPalmipédarium, Clapin made adialogue-free storyin which a little boy confronts his own notions of reality. In the new feature film, chances are that memory, legacy and presence are parts of the conversation about what exactly we are in the universe.
In an official blog post, Clapin stated that one of his goals when making a movie is “to make the audience feel somewhat uncomfortable.” This also seems to be the case withMeanwhile On Earth, that from the looks of it draws elements fromsinister thrillerswitha tinge of body horror. But we’ll have to wait a couple of months to discover exactly how far the French director was willing to go in order to provide a unique experience in theaters.
Meanwhile On Earthpremieres in theaters on September 13. You can watch the trailer above.
