Ever since she was a little girl, Nan-young has wanted to go to Mars. In fact, for the past 25 years, she’s worked ceaselessly toward that goal.
Nothing has ever deterred her. Not the fact that her mother passed away during a Mars assignment. Not the fact that her father has been slowly losing his grip on reality since the death of his beloved wife.
If anything, those elements have pushed Nan-young even harder. She wants to complete her mother’s mission: cultivating plant life on the Red Planet using a hardy little flower called Amur Adonis.
Unfortunately, Nan-young’s superiors are questioning her suitability for the task. They worry that seeing the site where her mother perished might be too much for the young scientist, that she might wind up like her father. And since it takes six months and a ton of money to get a person to Mars, they’ve decided she’s not worth the risk.
So when Nan-young begins falling for Jay, an aspiring and talented musician who just so happens to have written her favorite song, she’s a little torn.
On one hand, Nan-young could accept the decision to not send her to Mars. She could start a life with Jay and care for her father in his old age.
On the other hand, this is what Nan-young has worked for her whole life. She’s created a robot capable of detecting even the faintest trace of microorganisms—which should make it easier to discover if any of her mother’s flowers have survived. And she’s convinced that if she can just get that robot perfected, she’ll provide the Mars mission with an asset that far outweighs the risk of taking her.
But if Nan-young is successful, where will that leave her with Jay?
If Nan-young goes to Mars, there’s a significant chance she could die. And she certainly doesn’t want Jay to wind up like her father, pining away for his lost love the rest of his life.
However, Nan-young also doesn’t want to give up Jay. For the first time ever, she feels like she might have a life away from Mars. But is she willing to give up her career—and the link that career has provided to her mom—for love?
Nan-young and Jay seem to have a healthy relationship. They challenge and push each other to succeed. Nan-young inspires Jay, encouraging him toward his dream of becoming a singer-songwriter. And Jay does his best to support Nan-young in her career, too.
The young couple certainly has their share of ups and downs. As individuals, they both learn that a successful relationship requires a certain amount of maturity and selflessness. But in the end, it appears that they strike a good balance. They place importance on each other’s dreams, making a few sacrifices along the way to ensure each other’s happiness.
I won’t spoil how, but Nan-young’s connection with Jay helps her process the loss of her mother, something she had previously insisted didn’t affect her.
Nan-young’s father never gave up on her mother. It’s a bit sad, since it seems he is suffering from some memory loss. However, it’s also touching how devoted he is to his wife. And ultimately, that devotion helps to save another person.
Jay is on bad terms with his former bandmates since the lead singer appropriated one of his songs as her own. However, they reconcile, and Jay is able to rewrite the song as he originally envisioned it with the support of the whole band.
Nan-young sometimes sees visions of the accident that killed her mother. And later in the film, she imagines that her mom is still alive on Mars. In both cases, though, it appears that these images stem from her grief and aren’t real.
Scientists hope they will discover life on Mars, either through plant life that they cultivate themselves or through alien species.
Some people talk about Santa. We hear the phrase, “Speak of the devil.”
Jay and Nan-young kiss and make out frequently. One shot shows the pair in bed together, sheets covering their unclothed bodies, and it seems they spend the night together a lot. Elsewhere, Jay lounges around shirtless, with Nan-young in shorts and tank tops. The pair also cuddle and flirt often.
Some other female characters sometimes wear revealing outfits.
Flashbacks and video footage show the destruction of the previous Mars habitat, the tragic event that claimed the life of Nan-young’s mom. The structure shakes and begins collapsing as the scientists scream and run for safety. Unfortunately, nobody survives, and we see body of one person buried in the rubble.
While on Mars, someone almost dies while exploring an underground cave. A tornado hits the vehicle she’s rappeling from, causing her to fall and crack her helmet. And she quickly begins to lose oxygen.
Several characters bump into each other, trip and otherwise fall down due to general clumsiness. Someone almost gets hit by a car when crossing a street without looking. A few characters get scrapes and scratches.
There is one use of the s-word and couple uses of “d–n” and “d–mit.”
Adult characters sometimes drink alcohol.
When Jay learns the details of how Nan-young’s mom died, he’s vehemently opposed to Nan-young following in her footsteps, angry that she would risk her life, leaving him and her dad behind.
Video footage shows the families of the other Mars victims grieving their loved ones. A woman sobs as she watches the “last words” video of a friend—videos recorded by all the Mars astronauts to send to their families in case something should go wrong.
In Netflix’s Lost in Starlight the sky is the limit—literally, since Nan-young does, if you hadn’t guessed by now, make it to Mars.
The film has some nice things to say about devotion and love. And it also touches on how grief affect everyone in different ways, sometimes in ways we never expected.
Now, if Lost in Starlight had been rated PG-13, then the following content concerns probably wouldn’t bug me as much as they do. But the film’s PG rating gave me a false sense of security. And I’m not gonna lie: I’m a little bitter about that.
First off, we hear the s-word, which while allowed by the MPA in limited circumstances in a PG movie, nevertheless feels harsh here. Second, Nan-young and Jay can get very … let’s say passionate. Montages show the couple kissing, making out and cuddling together. One shot even shows them in bed together, only covered by sheets. And it’s pretty clear that’s a common occurrence for the pair.
That sort of content doesn’t feel PG. It certainly doesn’t feel appropriate for anyone under the age of 13. And I’m not sure how it squeezed by with such a lenient rating.
But parents, now you know. So hopefully you won’t feel caught off-guard when making a decision about this film for your family.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
