Every Christmas season the same question arises and the same trend persists: What movies should we watch to get into the holiday spirit? Well, NBC is airing “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Oh, and “Frosty the Snowman” is on CBS. But what about “Home Alone” showing on FOX? Great, thanks, network TV, for blessing us with another opportunity to watch the same tired movies we have already seen a hundred times. This Christmas can forget Jimmy Stewart and his guardian angel and it can step right over Charlie Brown and his crappy little Christmas tree. Why? I’m telling you why. Wayne Coyne and The Flaming Lips are coming to town.
The unprecedented and highly anticipated “Christmas on Mars” was released nationally in the middle of November, giving holiday shoppers ample time to start a new, other-worldly Christmas tradition. Seven years in the making, the film made its theatrical debut last September at the KGB Film complex in New York City where it was screened using the Flaming Lips’ and producer Dave Fridmann’s custom-designed 5.1 Zeta Bootis Mega Supersonic Super-Sound Surround System.
“Christmas on Mars,” which is set on Christmas day, on Mars, is the directorial debut of Coyne, the lead singer and front man for The Flaming Lips. He worked side by side with audiovisual technician George Salisbury, who works with the Lips to produce their stunning live sets and performances. Coyne produced much of the set in the backyard of his home in Oklahoma City – who knew that the Sooner State had the same barren backdrop as the big red planet?
The story of “Christmas on Mars” is simple and highly logical. During the colonization of Mars, an oxygen generator and gravity control pod malfunction. Major Syrtis, the leader of the colony, begins to have horrific hallucinations of the artificial birth of the Christmas baby, as well as other strange visions. A spooky, super-powered alien, played by Coyne, comes to the rescue and fixes the oxygen pump.
It’s not much of a plot, but that’s not really the point of “Christmas on Mars.” This movie is all about texture and aesthetic. The psychedelic sights collide with the psychedelic sounds to produce a psychedelic experience. Much like Stanley Kubrick’s far-out moments in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” or like David Lynch’s “Eraserhead” and “Inland Empire” – minus the earnestness and plus the silliness. It’s a Christmas classic the whole family can enjoy.
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