What exactly would it be like to have Christmas on Mars? That’s something Wayne Coyne, front man for the band The Flaming Lips, would certainly know, with his film “Christmas on Mars.” With the idea developing from the drawing of postcards the band created for fans, Wayne’s creativity exploded from mini-storyboards to actual filming, and thus an idea was born.Coyne directs and writes for the film, with co-directors Bradley Beesley and George Salisbury, and creates something unique and something a little close to David Lynch’s “Eraserhead.” But not as non-linear. It was released November 11, 2008, and only packaged with the soundtrack done by The Flaming Lips themselves. Wayne invites all members to play a part along with actors Steve Burns, Adam Goldberg, and Fred Armisen.
The film tells a story of the experiences during the first Christmas on a newly-colonized Mars, such as space dementia, Wayne Coyne as a Martian who shows us that you make your own path from within yourself, and the process of the first colonial birth on Mars. The film is quite inspiring and unique, and it gives you a different perspective on the self and on life as a whole.
This isn’t a film that hit the big screen, but it’s certainly fine that way. It’s certainly a hidden gem that can broaden your boundaries on the American film and a weird way to bring meaning back to Christmas. Whether you’re a fan, or know of the Flaming Lips or not, this is worth a look, and you’d be surprised how delicious a spaceship can be.