Meanwhile on Earth (Pendant ce temps sur Terre) from writer/director Jeremy Clapin (I Lost My Body) is a slow-burn sci-fi story of grief and loss, and arrested development. The film stars Megan Northam (The Passengers of The Night) as Elsa, a budding illustrator and sister to famed astronaut who never returned from a fateful space mission. In her small French town, her brother Franck even has a bronze statue immortalizing him…which she routinely vandalizes to make him look like a superhero. Needless to say, it’s been hard for Elsa and her family to move on and Franck is never far from their thoughts.
In a bizarre twist, Elsa is contacted by her brother after she enters a paranormal vortex while gazing at the stars. But when her connection to Franck is cut short, and an unknown entity begins communicating with Elsa, she learns that she has been selected as the earthbound counterpart to assist them in their interstellar mission. The new voice is very calm and scientifically cold but it promises Elsa that she will be reunited with her brother if she helps them reach their goals.
“A classic sci-fi approach that relies on the discussion and dissection of a situation…”
Elsa essentially becomes a Renfield for a group of unseen alien invaders but they have no plans to blow up the White House or re-populate the world. They are simply observers, here to study humans and humanity and all that it has to offer. At least, that’s what they claim. Their mission is vague to us but as they talk with Elsa more and more about Earth and her place in it, we get a better understanding of how they view humanity and what they see as beneficial about existence. All the while, Elsa is forced to make seemingly life-or-death judgment calls about the people around her. Is she willing to trade a stranger’s life for her brother’s?
Through Elsa‘s drawings, we’re also given several animated sequences, a strength of Clapin’s. His previous film I Lost My Body (adapted from Guillaume Laurant’s novel Happy Hand) had viewers weeping for a disembodied hand that wandered the streets of Paris in search of its body. His ability to add emotional depth to simple slice-of-life moments is unquestioned, but the animation of Meanwhile On Earth is less integral than in his previous work. We explore the cosmos and the deep connection she and her brother had through these scenes, but it’s the moments between Elsa and her parents (played by Catherine Salee & Sam Louwyck) that the strength of their performances and Clapin’s writing really shines.
“…at its best in its quietest moments, including one of the most subtle and visually striking abduction sequences…”
Meanwhile on Earth is at its best in its quietest moments, including one of the most subtle and visually striking abduction sequences I’ve seen in recent years. Minimalist, maybe to a fault, but always interesting. It’s a classic sci-fi approach that relies on the discussion and dissection of a situation, rather than eye-popping sequences of tractor beams and flying saucers (although, I’m sure no one would have objected to a few flying saucers). Leave it up to the French to make a simple story about UFOs a profound discussion on the hardships of finding purpose and meaning in a life lived and grappling with the unbearable weight of loss.
Jeremy Clapin’s Meanwhile on Earth, a Metrograph Pictures release, hits theatres November 8. Let us know what you think of this subtle sci-fi story (and if you would become an accomplice in an alien invasion) over in the official Nightmare on Film Street discord!
