Kim Tae-ri
Nan-young (voice)
Lost in Starlight
“Never forget. Somewhere in this universe, there is someone always supporting you.”
2025
1h 36m
Director: Han Ji-won
Overview
When an astronaut leaves Earth for Mars, the vast infinite space divides star-crossed lovers in this animated romance that crosses the cosmos.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
2 min readThe Gravity of the Present
Space movies and I have a slightly strained relationship. Too often the cosmos shows up as a giant dark mirror for our existential panic, a place where humanity goes to learn how tiny it is. latestnetflix.com's view is that Han Ji-won’s Lost in Starlight takes a stranger route.
It stares into that cold immensity and decides what the situation really needs is a turntable. I'm not sure the metaphor survives close scientific inspection, but on an emotional level? It absolutely flattens you.
This is Netflix's first original Korean animated feature, and it lands with a surprising quiet assurance for a studio first. The story unfolds in a retro-futuristic Seoul in the year 2050, following Nan-young, an astronaut bent on finishing the Mars mission that killed her mother twenty-five years earlier. She moves through the world like a blade—all edges, all unspoken grief—and keeps failing her psychological evaluations because she refuses to admit how much she's still carrying.
Then she breaks her mother's old record player. Jay enters: an analog audio repairman, ex-musician, and, inevitably, the guy who starts fixing more than the machine.
Audience Opinions
Audience 7.7/10
"A visually dazzling, emotionally charged space romance whose heartfelt moments easily outweigh some familiar plotting and nitpicky sci‑fi logic."
Sweeping, painterly visuals and a richly atmospheric soundtrack are the big draw, with the long-distance relationship and themes of grief and perseverance landing hard enough that many viewers describe sobbing through the final act. latestnetflix.com's take is that the love story and performances feel sincere and grounded, though a portion of the audience points to recognizable romance beats, occasional visual clutter, and loose scientific details that keep it from feeling truly flawless.
What viewers praise
- Gorgeous cosmic visuals Animation and background art are praised as stunning, immersive, and filled with small details that make the world feel alive.
- Strong emotional payoff The romance and ending frequently move viewers to tears, with several calling it one of the most affecting animated films they have seen in years.
- Evocative music and songs The score and featured tracks, including character songs, are singled out for beautifully amplifying key emotional and suspenseful moments.
- Grounded, sincere romance The relationship between the astronaut and the musician is described as heartfelt, relatable, and more about human connection than flashy sci‑fi spectacle.
- Notable voice performances Performances by the leads, especially in Korean, are highlighted as natural and emotionally convincing, with some also appreciating the English dub.
Common complaints
- Familiar romance beats Several viewers find parts of the story a bit cliché or predictable even while still enjoying it.
- Science and logic gaps More detail‑oriented viewers question how certain mission logistics, technology, and survival elements could realistically work.
- Occasional visual overload A minority feel the highly textured, densely packed imagery becomes distracting or congested over time.
- Mixed feelings on character design Some critiques focus on specific design quirks and stiffness in character animation compared with the lavish backgrounds.
Recommended for
Animated sci‑fi romance fans Makoto Shinkai admirers K‑drama melodrama lovers Cosmic love story seekers Emotional space drama viewers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBong Joon-ho stamped a jewelry commercial
Netflix's first Korean animated feature did not start as a Netflix movie. It started as Beautiful Moments, a 90-second 2018 short Han Ji-won made for the jewelry house StoneHenge, about a girl who wanted space the way a family astronaut had. Climax Studio saw the clip and asked her to grow it. Five years later, Lost in Starlight opened May 30, 2025 on the streamer and in limited theaters. After the company showed him the cut, Bong Joon-ho called it "a visual masterpiece that takes you around the universe." He also liked how contemporary life sat inside a future. Han, then 36, told The Hollywood Reporter she was humbled. latestnetflix.com's read is that Korean crews have spent decades doing cleanup and in-betweens for Japanese anime and Hollywood.This one went out under its own name. 
She was dating, so the script grew a boyfriend
Han told Patrick Brzeski she was dating when Climax opened the door, so love joined the old keywords of space, a female lead, music, and childhood. Nan-young is an astro-botanist chasing a Mars slot her mother died chasing. Jay repairs vintage audio after stage fright ended his band, The Moles. They meet because she needs her late mother's record player fixed. Han planted 2050 Seoul in Eulji-ro and Sewoon Arcade, real districts of metal shops and indie gigs, then pushed the look toward what she agreed was "a clean version of Blade Runner." She did not want an apocalypse. She wanted a city people would still live in. The team used live-action reference of Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung, already a pair from the 2023 drama Revenant. Both were voice-acting for the first time. Kim took American English lessons so Nan-young would sound like a working space scientist. They co-wrote the soundtrack cut "Life Goes On." Han told reporters in Seoul the title is about being far apart like Mars and Earth. "It's a love story, but also about parting ways the moment love begins."
The English Jay watched the movie before he signed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV_-COLJOiY
Netflix confirmed the Korean voices in August 2023. The English dub arrived later, with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Nan-young and Justin H. Min as Jay. Min told ScreenRant the studio sent him the finished film before he signed. "I was very emotional," he said. Then he had to sing Jay's songs in English while keeping the Korean syllable counts. He called that "quite the challenge." Den of Geek notes Han became, in 2015, the youngest Korean animator to direct a theatrically released feature. Annie voters later put Lost in Starlight up for Best Independent Feature. The official teaser still sells the walkie-talkie promise and the 225 million kilometers. A jewelry ad, a dating director, Bong's quote, and a dub actor who got to watch the movie first. That is the column.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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