Lost in Starlight is an animated film directed by Han Ji-won, who also directed other animated films like The Summer and The Sea on the Day When Magic Returns. The film stars Hong Kyung and Kim Tae-ri as the two main characters, Jay and Nan-young, respectively. The story is set in the year 2052, in which the world is now using technology like holograms to stay in touch.
The use of animation in this story helps bring the futuristic setting to life, as well as the metaphorical scenes centered around trauma. This is not just a love story, but a story about two people struggling with their inner turmoils, and how they tackle these obstacles to become better partners for each other.
The relationship in this story is not instantaneous, as the two get to know each other as friends and gradually fall in love. This gives the audience time to get to know the characters and better understand their bond. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Nan-young is creating robots to help find and create organic life on Mars. On the other hand, Jay is an electrician for what are now considered antique devices like televisions and record players. He is the type of guy, to Nan-young’s bewilderment, who still uses pen and paper. Despite their differences, they connect when Nan-young finds out Jay is the writer of her favorite song. Through a montage, we watch their relationship flourish as they both support each other with their passions.
Throughout the film, we get glimpses of Nan-young’s pain surrounding her mother’s death. Instead of sweet memories of her mother, Nan-young is haunted by the fact that she, as a child, watched her mother’s last moments alive on Mars. Despite these constant nightmares, Nan-young’s goal is to go to Mars just like her mother. Unfortunately for Nan-young, while her father is still alive, he suffers from a sort of dementia and believes his wife is still in space. As such, this builds the foundation of Nan-young’s problem: she is forever stuck as the child who is waiting for her mother to come home. This further explains her longing to go to the place where her mother last went as a way to link with her mother and come to peace with her passing.
Unfortunately, the film does not go into as much depth as with Nan-young as it does with Jay’s issues. We know that he left his band because he clashed with another band member who made changes to his songs without his consent. Additionally, he does suffer from stage fright, which he does not share with Nan-young. Although the two do talk about him returning to music, Jay handles his issues alone. It is also implied that he comes to a compromise with his old band to move forward again. However, we never get much background into what caused his stage fright and how he was able to make amends with his bandmates again.
In the end, both Jay and Nan-young are harboring this darkness within themselves that they do not share, and that ultimately leads to their breakup. Jay, while being supportive on the outside, does not want Nan-young to go into space. He fears living the same life as Nan-young’s dad, who is forever stuck in the past, waiting for his wife to return. Nan-young is also hiding the fact that she saw a video of her mother’s last moments, which traumatized her more than she likes to admit. However, it took losing each other to push them both into coming face-to-face with their reality. As Jay says in the film itself,
The last things I wanted you to see were the shadows I carry inside… it was you who taught me that light and shadow are inseparable. And if you don’t embrace the shadows, then you’ll never see the light.
Eventually, Nan-young realizes she was chasing this connection with her mother while pushing away the prospering relationship. The film builds up to a satisfying climax that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Nan-young’s helmet has cracked, she is two hours away from her team, and she has fallen down a deep hole. As the tension rises, history seems to be repeating itself with her mother’s death. However, all of her decisions have centered on finding this bond with her mother that she lost as a child. It takes putting herself in her mother’s shoes to finally come to the conclusion that what she was searching for was on earth all along.
This is a beautiful film that captures the development of an imperfect couple that both have lessons to learn when it comes to love and loss. The beautiful animation brings to life this fantastical setting where humans can stay connected and visit each other through the use of holograms and other technology. However, the two characters both learn that while these tools are helpful, they both have to be emotionally present to keep their relationship working. The couple goes through their challenges, and both realize they must work to become better partners for each other.
(Youtube. Images via Netflix.)
