Movie Review "Lost in the Stars"
*Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD*
“Lost in the Stars” such a romantic phrase, evoking a sense of euphoric wanderlust, but underneath this seemingly harmless title lies a bone-chilling murder mystery.
The Chinese film premiered December 22, 2022 at the Hainan International film festival and was officially released June 22, 2023. “Lost in the Stars” ranked high on my list of “must-watch” movies of 2023 from the get-go.
The initial trailer was ominously thrilling, the pacing, the color-grading, the eerie dialogue, the jump cuts, everything hit just right. I couldn’t wait to see the film.
Fast forward a few months, I rediscovered the existence of this film, thanks YouTube algorithm! I must admit: I watched the recap before the actual movie. Some people may find this appalling but I’m a die-hard advocate of spoilers, I want to be absolutely sure the film/drama/book is worthy of my time and emotional investment before I jump in.
That being said, I was hesitant to watch the movie after I’d already watched the recap. Did I still need to watch the actual movie if I already knew what happened? I procrastinated awhile longer until one day I finally thought: “eh, why not? Let’s see how it actually played out.”
One hundred twenty-two minutes later when I came back to my senses, I found myself staring at the white font scrolling by the black screen. I was completely floored.
“Lost in the Stars” was adapted from “A Trap for a Lonely Man,” a Soviet comedy film from the 90’s. The film was inspired by a true story of a murderous husband who pushed his wife off a cliff to claim a hefty sum of life insurance.
Firstly, a brief summary (please feel free to find the detailed plot synopsis on Wikipedia). A young couple, He Fei (husband; portrayed by Zhu Yilong) and Li Muzi (wife) visit the fictional country of Barlandia for their one-year wedding anniversary. Li Muzi disappears (hence the Chinese film title “消失的她" meaning “she who disappeared”) and He Fei is left in a desperate race against time to find his missing wife before his visa expires.
The opening scene follows a frantic He Fei as he stumbles to the police station for the umpteenth time to report a missing person. The police are unwilling to help as they’re swamped with other work, they dismiss the desperate husband with “lack of evidence” “just a couple’s dispute.” Fortunately(?), there is one policeman, Officer Zheng, who’s willing to offer He Fei a hand.
He Fei returns to his hotel suite slightly hopeful, but little does he know, this is only the beginning of his troubles. He takes some unknown pills and falls unconscious after a drink. The next morning he wakes up to find an unidentified woman lying next to him. To make matters worse, this woman claims to be his wife…
Despite He Fei adamantly denying her claims, everyone sides with the unidentified woman. Fortunately, He Fei enlists the help of a capable lawyer, Chen Mai (a.k.a. Shen Man; portrayed by Ni Ni) and the two set out to uncover the truth behind the strange woman.
The film’s skillful pacing and gradual revelation of the truth really captivates the audience. Shifting realities and roles, from perpetrator to prey, from the one playing the game to the one being played, it was a spell-binding performance by a stellar cast. Every character seems to have their own agenda, leaving the audience constantly guessing: what is the [real] truth? Kudos to the main actors Zhu Yilong (朱一龍）and Ni Ni (倪妮) for their dazzling performances, truly masters of their craft.
I was fascinated by the film’s depiction of human nature’s multi-faceted-ness (#INTJ-forever). I took a Masterclass on Criminal Profiling earlier this year and found it immensely intriguing. My takeaway from this film was: greed knows no bounds and 知足常樂 (one who knows contentment shall be happy). Don’t always focus on what we don’t have, don’t succumb to greed, be grateful and count our blessings so we can be happy.
The ending song《籠》(long; literally meaning cage) sums up the whole film nutshell. From Li Muzi’s tragic death (literal cage) to He Fei’s victim mentality (metaphoric cage) to Shen Man’s carefully constructed revenge plot (carefully constructed cage), all of the characters have their own “cages” so to speak.
I’m glad I watched the recap before watching the film since it allowed me to focus on how the story unfolded and appreciate the artistic choices the director made. The film was true to its purpose, a well-crafted piece that told the story in an engaging manner. The attention to detail was prevalent throughout and the intermittent flashbacks allowed viewers to better understand the full picture as the story progressed.
Overall rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Trailer:
Bonus: Ending song《籠》(“Cage”)