Billed as Netflix Korea’s foray into animated features, “Lost in Starlight” captures the delicate giddiness of K-Dramas through the wildly imaginative lens of a wonderful sci-fi world. With a runtime of 1 hour and 36 minutes, the 2D animated film is a visual spectacle, exploring the many possibilities of a high-tech city in the 2050s. However, the heart of the film lies in the story of its star-crossed leading couple. Director Han Ji-won, who also wrote the story with Kang Hyun-joo, spins a love yarn that is sweet without being sappy. Effectively, the tenderness of “Lost in Starlight” would compel even the most hardened cynic to root for the lovers.
“Lost in Starlight” is set in a Cyberpunk-ish world of the 2050s. Now, I use the word ‘Cyberpunk’ a little loosely here. Although Ji-won has peppered Seoul with futuristic gizmos like flying cars and holograms, the grime and the slime of the ‘low-life’ (as demanded by the tenets of Cyberpunk) are missing. As it is largely a love story here, there is an idyllic charm in the lives of the moderately livings. As a result, Ji-won’s neon-lit, almost utopic, Seoul becomes a world you might just pine for.
This is the world where Nan-young (Kim Tae-ri) and Jay’s (Hong Kyung) love blooms. Let us look into Nan-young first. A driven and ambitious scientist. She has dedicated her life to being part of the Space exploration team of NASA. Especially the one chartering for Mars. She is on the verge of developing a robot (An even cuter version of R2D2) that could detect lifeforms in the Martian terrain. Nan-young’s mother was an astronaut too. Unfortunately, she died on an expedition on Mars. So, apart from being a scientific goal, standing on the soil of the Red Planet is also Nan-young’s desperate attempt at closure.
As opposed to Nan-young’s lofty and off-planet dreams, Jay is down-to-earth and with a tendency to shy away from the limelight, so much so that he will delete the song he composed from the streaming sites. So, we have a woman steadfastly moving towards her dream and a man trying to get away from the path that leads him to his dream. It is the kind of dichotomy that K-Drama romances thrive on. Ji-won and Hyun-joo’s story, however, embraces simplicity while steering away from repetitive cliches. Starting from the meet-cute to the head-over-heels stage, there is an authentic magnetism between the two lovers that one cannot help but fawn over.
“Lost in Starlight” also channels an undercurrent of ‘Dream vs Love.’ Not a heartwrenching exploration, but a poignantly warm outlook towards the sacrifices one needs to make for their dreams. It could remind one of Damien Chazelle’s endearing depiction of the same through his Ryan Gosling-Emma Stone starrer, “La La Land.” Like “La La Land,” the two star-crossed lovers face their biggest challenge in the form of their respective dreams. Sure, there is a climactic moment where Nan-young seems to be lost in the literal galactic starlight. However, there is no starlight brighter and all-engulfing than the one that shines through your dreams. Han Ji-won seems to understand that well.
The voice performances from Kim Tae-ri (from Park Chan Wook’s brilliant “The Handmaiden”) and Hong Kyung (“Weak Hero Class 1”) are undoubtedly exceptional. From the initial flutters in the stomach to the pangs of the first misunderstanding, Tae-ri and Kyung’s vocal depiction deftly takes us through the whole journey. Of a relationship that deserves to be saved. A love that needs to be fulfilled. A romance becomes endearing through the plights of its characters. And their desire to overcome those, at any cost. The earnestness in the voices of Tae-ri and Kyung goes a long way in making us root for a happy ending between Nan-young and Jay.
Sure, reality often stomps on happiness. A fight between dreams and love hardly ever ends with both sides winning. Someone must lose. However, miracles do happen. Through “Lost in Starlight,” Han Ji-won asks us to be hopeful. Just enough to care for a last-ditch attempt. Like running to the airport, or in this case, sending a message in space. Hoping against hope that we get lucky. Because one never knows. The universe might just reward that attempt with a bit of intergalactic magic.
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