I really gotta start looking at these Netflix projects with more apprehension on my part because I almost completely forgot “Lost In Starlight” even qualified as one until I redrew the lines of the story in my head. Anywho, this was brought to my attention only a few short days ago….
….and it so nearly became something more than what it was.
Han Ji-won’s direction exhibits a strange, charming duality; it moves between the sprightly, improvisational, almost jam-session quality of intimate character moments and the steely, blueprint-level adherence to a master plan of this imperfect design….and it feels very deliberate on her part. Not only is there a tenderness in every scene she weaves through but an underlying sense of yearning that guides her.
I swear I’m a sucker for the irresistible eye candy of high-end contemporary stylization in animated movies and this is yet another that creates an alchemy, not a compromise, between the kinetic, precise bombast of American animation and the patient, emotive craftsmanship of its Asian counterparts with a verdant, warm color palette flare and a not-so-delicate balance between detailed hand-drawn and CG outlandish spacefaring elements or more terrestrial ones; a constant flex of its own musculature. Pairing this style alongside a production design with this grand a scale and a minimalist scope, this cluttered urban landscape of the resplendent Seoul and even the vastness of space is both alive and over-medicated in a manner that mirrors the internal fortresses our characters have built for themselves; putting aside how some of it isn’t entirely fluid or natural, these blemishes never threaten to derail the larger motion of the film, which is so intent on creating a distinct visual grammar that you start to see them less as errors and more as regional dialects in it’s own language.
Thankfully, this isn’t a case like Mutant Mayhem where the stellar animation is used as a crutch to hide the more inoperative, rudimentary cogs of the story…..mostly.
Camerawork here is equal parts an impartial scribe and an active conspirator in that fleeting nature of connection; between the way it dances between soft, ethereal glows, harsh, practical lighting, and poised control of the framing of each shot, there’s clearly an attempt at intimacy in the closeness or distance of each scene and the editing relishes in those transitions, carrying much of the movie’s momentum on its back. This is one of those rare instances where the structure certainly suits the passive nature of its world building as opposed to the other way around, not much about the costumes stand out to me but they’re fitting of the feature it’s apart of, and what the eye captures, the ear amplifies: the score, a blend of ethereal electronica, sweeping orchestral swells and a lulling but seriously heavy-handed soundtrack that can overstay its welcome, further immerses us in this familiarly unfamiliar world where fantasy and reality collide. Sound design is also intricately accentuating to the visual splendor on display.
That being said, it did take awhile for me to make peace with the pacing though; the film’s tempo pirouettes between brief spurts of adrenaline and unfolding at a leisurely speed for a good 87 percent of the runtime and for a film that’s over 98 minutes, this balance is quite noticeable. However, it does highlight how sparingly the film succeeds in building up tension and delivering suspense.
Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung are the only ones of this cast I was actively impressed with; the rest weren’t terrible per se but they didn’t come off as naturally as they did. Their dialogue is naturalistic to a fault at times, and their characters were the only two I grew to remotely try and attach myself to.
Look, this isn’t the first time an animated feature’s tried to two-side ordinary dilemma’s like this in every day life. Painting this ‘unlikely relationship’ between people stuck in two vastly different worlds, they really want to show both the complications of love through your ambitions and dreams but also how those very human connections evolve in a sometimes unforgiving but never hopeless universe and since Korean media is known internationally for its love stories, it’s nice to see this one not pretending that this gambit is fresh. On the surface, it can’t escape feeling familiar or archetypal even, but the textural sincerity that overlays it is entirely its own and the story does somewhat lean into that fatalistic inertia of love in an era swollen with distraction, obligation, and self-mythologizing….no matter how lumply disorientating those themes of the pathos of almost-connection, well, connect to it.
A romance story first and a sci-fi adventure second, the script is very low-key, laid-back and sedated in its ambitions for a majority of the runtime but it does actively build to a clear destination in mind; one where there’s a distinct softness to the way the stakes are drawn, a refusal to let the expected tropes of the genre entrap the narrative in lockstep, and one where the narrative doesn’t make it impossible for a certain niche section of the audience to fall in love with its cheeky simplicity. You can sense however that the two genres, rather than fusing, exist in a kind of passive-aggressive truce, occasionally lobbing sabotage at one another which results in some ridiculous coincidences, pitifully undercooked plot lines and an overall murky package to tell this story in.
Still, it’s a relatively easy watch that sets out to do exactly what it markets itself as keeps its personality in spades.
As nice as it is seeing a couple like this being sweetly drawn and always-blushing, and while the story doesn’t actively goes out of its way to smooth out the edges of their relationship to make both of them look as perfect as possible, it still does oversimplify the lifelong consequences of Nan-young’s childhood trauma as well as the struggle Jay faces to overcome his anxiety. It passes and barely excels the bare minimum at both showing and telling how running away from your dreams or being consumed by it can hamper your ability to appreciate what’s right in front of you….and I’d be more than willing to ignore those abnormalities and get behind this if said romance we got wasn’t rushed.
Really, that seems to be the overarching pattern with this flick: even in its boldest swings, it always seems to be looking over one shoulder, checking to see if it’s gotten too far from the familiar, too raw for the market it was built to impress. Honestly, it's a pity that it shies away from fully diving into the darkness and light within each character's heart, preferring to skate along the surface of poignancy before retreating back to safer waters; these romantic cliches however are timeless for a reason and they’re not worth getting too worked up over.
Lost In Starlight is another example where ambition surpasses execution, resulting in a good film that remains confined by the safety net it longs to break free from. However, this doesn't diminish its charm, as it still offers an enamoring enough take on the star-crossed lovers tale.
