Lost in Starlight: the lovely animation film, by HAN Ji-won, tells the story of an astronaut who, as she is fighting to get into a NASA mission to Mars, meets a charming former musician. Set in a near-future Seoul, the film sports a pair of very lovely protagonists, which makes it easy to root for them and to get involved in their comings and goings. The voice acting is charming and effective:
KIM Tae-ri plays the determined and smart astronaut with a very personal reason to get to Mars, and she has good chemistry with HONG Kyung, who plays the good-natured musician. The animation itself is beautiful, with very nice character models, a credible future city where the main difference is the prevalence of virtual reality, and very fluid and colourful movements in a few key fantasy sequences. The song that is a key plot point, “Bon Voyage”, is a pleasurable listen in its multiple versions.