Lost in the Stars (2022) User Reviews

A pulpy, melodramatic crime mystery that's fun as a one-time watch

[ObsessiveCinemaDisorder · 7/10 · 25 September 2023]

Lost in the Stars is a Chinese Hitchcockian-style mystery crime thriller that grips the audience and keeps them guessing with endless twists and turns. It's pulpy, melodramatic entertainment that burns brightest in the moment, assaulting the audience with questions but never providing enough time or the breathing room to solve them.

While celebrating their first anniversary at a Thai island resort, He Fei discovers his wife Muzi has mysteriously gone missing. Unable to file a missing persons case with the police and his visa about to expire, He Fei wakes up to find an unknown woman claiming to be his wife and that all the photographs on his phone have been replaced.

Desperate for help, He Fei hires Chen, a renowned hotshot lawyer, to disprove the mystery woman's identity and find the real Muzi.

Directors Rui Cui and Xiang Liu hook the audience from the beginning and keep the plot moving like a freight train. Yilong Zhu, Ni Ni, and Janice Man tune their performances to serve the mystery like a cog in the machine, finding the sweet spot between who their character appears to be and revealed to be. Little inconsistencies spotted are actually all paid off later in a fun way.

The final reveal... is so ridiculous that it's technically a cheat. I notably laughed out loud as the film blatantly switches genres to engineer an unguessable reveal.

It's the equivalent of revealing Darth Vader is a woman so the audience has no chance of guessing he's Luke Skywalker's father, if that makes sense.

By that point, the fun had already been had. I already cared and can't take it back. The journey was in guessing what was happening at the moment, less in the reveal itself.

The best mysteries place the answer in plain sight and deceptively steer the audience from seeing the obvious the entire time. Lost in the Stars falls short of this; its mystery is ultimately not sophisticated enough to warrant a rewatch. The mood, intrigue, and soap opera melodrama of it all still make it an entertaining one-time watch.

Lost in the Stars

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 6 August 2023]

At the start, this is quite an intriguing drama. "He Fei" (Yilong Zhu) and his wife "Li Muzi" seem to be getting along nicely until she disappears. He is in despair until a woman appears asserting that she is the missing woman - and he is certain that she is not his wife. This lady (Janice Man) is adamant, and when he seeks police assistance she is able to prove her identity with videos, photos and friends who corroborate her story. Is he just losing the plot, or might something more sinister be afoot? Fortunately for our increasingly hapless hero, a local lawyer/investigator "Chen Mai" (Ni Ni) decides that she is going to help him out and the more they dig, the more confusion they discover. To be fair, the plot is anything but simple - it has plenty of twists and turns, but I rather lost interest in him as a character and the plot gradually became a bit too convoluted. There just aren't enough clues for us to follow, we learn at the same rate as them and that left me in limbo for too much of this two hour drama. The ending has a quirkiness to it, but the characterisations are too weak and the story too thin to make it worth the wait. It's a sort of grudge/retribution story - but for way too long I didn't know why or whom by. It is watchable, and the acting is OK, but I doubt I will recall much about this next week.

Gone Woman

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 12 July 2023]

No pun intended - and not really connected with Gone Girl (if you've seen the movie or read the book - there is a book, right? There has to be). This quite twisty movie has you guessing what is right and what is wrong. Who and where characters are trying to lead us. There may be some traps along the way (again no pun intended) and I am not sure what you may think of the ending ... but the movie dares to go places that ... well you may not expect.

That said, it doesn't mean you won't be able to guess where the movie wants you to go. Interestingly enough, the movie seems to hit a spot - at least in London. About 10 screenings - all sold out! So they must be doing something right ... well told and all that ... if you are into that sort of stuff.

I Wholeheartedly Recommend Detective Chinatown 1

[dorMancyx · 6/10 · 27 June 2023]

Such a recent hit in mainland, and I guess it's more of a trendy success more than anything else. The general framework seems to be inspired by The Invisible Guest, yet the mystery not as intricate and the story not as convincing. The former issue being some of the events, scenes, and shots overly dramatized by the sound effect or cinematography, while the latter due to the overall mediocre performances. Also, the ending is stacked with a superfluous amount of twists and twines, which simply reflects some of the logical errors prior. It seems that the intention of the movie is quite clear: to tell a convoluted mystery from an intriguing perspective with a justified moral.

Gone Girl Called, It wants its money back

[popcornchicken10 · 7/10 · 24 July 2023]

The premise of this movie was very much Gone Girl-esque. I decided to check out this movie because of its rave reviews.

From the beginning, it was like Gone Girl. (This review might just be glowing praise of Gone Girl, and I'm sorry - but it's relevant)

From the sunlight shots of the missing wife looking beckoningly into the camera, to the flowing white linens as the missing wife smiles and laughs, flashbacks of the happy couple - you know the works.

You discover as the plot goes on that everything is not as it seems. You always think "the husband did it", and I thought that in the beginning scene where He Fei raggedly runs into the police station. He was handsome, and kudos to the actor, but he smelled from the moment he went on scene. You could sense the greasy interior behind the gentleman act.

Spoilers for the ending: Gone Girl did it better. The ending was too hamfisted and implausible, I almost burst out laughing at scenes that were supposed to be thrilling. There were gut wrenching moments, but the whole Oceans 11 mixed with Shutter Island scenario of the theater troupe suddenly arriving on the scene, doctoring images, setting up props within days of the wife's disappearance????? The whole asylum set when they do theater production sets of Romeo and Juliet in a whole another country???? Yeah you lost me.

I was entertained, so I do recommend. The levels of disbelief will be stretched.

Kind of a rollercoaster emotionally, which is good at times and bad at times

[h79423 · 7/10 · 2 December 2023]

Yes, this can be exhausting, but it also definitely has good qualities to it.

The two things I especially liked is how it doesn't forget to be humane and how the hints misdirect you, but in a good way.

First, the humane part: This is a mystery movie and in the western traditions this means that the human victims are forgotten and the whole plot is presented as a puzzle the detective is trying to figure out. This one reminds you what it's actually all about.

Second, the misdirections. When you've seen enough movies, you begin to identify the things that the moviemakers drop in the movie for you to notice when they become important. This one does that, but in an elegant diversion. I did not feel cheated, like I would in a less well constructed movie.

At the same time, the twists keep coming and they come often. It isn't hard to keep up rationally, but emotionally it's hard to keep invested in all of them. The movie does let you catch up with the ending, but there was a big stretch where I found myself not really interested in what was going on.

All in all, a pretty good watch. The story might have been better served in a miniseries, because that would let the twists simmer a bit longer to make the story more palatable.

I also do like it that we now have a better access to Chinese movies. They bring a bit different approach to stories and genres, which can be refreshing.

Fasten your seat belt. Great suspense and more

[GINNN_D · 10/10 · 19 June 2023]

It has been a very long while since last time I 'wowed' a suspense movie, and I am so glad the wait is over. Lost in the Stars takes suspense to the extreme, and even beyond. No matter if you guess it right or not, you will enjoy the process of finding the answer - isn't that suspense all about? With that said, Lost in the Stars has many a twists that lead to a surprise for closure.

The movie started with a missing person case, the wife of the lead character, He Fei (Zhu Yilong), vanished into thin air, during their trip to southeast Asia. He Fei desperately tried to find his wife, and suffered dearly, only to face a stranger (Janice Man) who insisted being his wife. He Fei found himself entangled in a web of plots and conspiracies, or did he really? Of course, there was a second as beautiful woman, Chen Mai (Ni Ni), who was capable of everything, came to rescue, or did she really? So, fasten your seatbelt and you will need it. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns.

Director/producer Chen Sicheng, known for his suspense crime movies, such as Sheep Without a Shepherd, brought forth another classic. For a story following a main character, we have a 50-50 chance of getting it right, for he is most likely either 'innocent' or 'bad'. However, this suspense dug into something deeper than that, taking a serious look at human nature and relationships.

We are often under the impression that suspense movies are mostly 'commercially oriented', acting may not be their 'big thing'. Well, not necessarily. Looking back there were plenty of award-worthy/winning performances in history, just to name a few, Edward Norton in Primal Fear, Kevin Spacey in the Usual Suspect, Nicole Kidman in the Others... - I know, it has been a good while. Again, I am glad the wait is over. For people who know a little bit about Zhu Yilong, you may remember his leading role in Un Certain Regard selected Only the River Flows at Canne Film Festival that just wrapped. It is safe to say he only chooses 'acting-worthy' or 'acting-challenging' characters. He Fei is no exception, if not an 'extreme'. There are many faces of the character, where he was a loving husband, an abused tourist, a doubtful client, a person with a neural disorder, and more, or was he really any of the above? Zhu Yilong gave a convincing performance, not only fully developed, but also multiple layered, for each face this guy had. There was a very difficult facial twitch that likely will be symbolic (you can try to see how difficult it is), however that's only the surface. Human nature's complexity was portrayed with depth and power, that leaves the audience to ponder and reflect.

No matter you are just in for a good thrill, or you look for inspiration and thought provoking complexities, you will enjoy this ride.

Lost in the Stars

[jackson_ro · 3/10 · 26 June 2023]

Distinctively Chen Sicheng, Lost in the Stars are in many ways imprinted with the director imprints, full of quick successive scenes filled with popping movements and colors, and quickwittedness but lacking in logic or any sort of explanation and I absolutely hate it. Zhu's, whom I believe is one the best Chinese actor right now delivers a performance that feels like an echo in an empty room. What makes the film better than the Chinatown series is that at least at the center there is a giant intrigue that you want to get to the end of it, but towards the end even that feels predictable and uncreative. The progression of the film feels driven by a series of plot holes. Again, the supporting cast is also a huge question mark, featuring awkward dialogues and motives.

A Sad & Ingenious Tragedy

[xuhuirong · 10/10 · 22 June 2023]

Pretty well, I didn't ever know this movie could be brilliant like this before I watched it.

The adapter was so rare in the Chinese movie field. The plots were up & downs, the plot twists were well designed, the actors' moods were also in place.

Somebody said the light effect was messy and old-fashioned, the actors' styles did not fit each other well. I agree with these. There were also some bugs in the plots, but the defects didn't obscure the virtues.

Anyway, it's worth watching. Plus: Please focus on now and don't predict the plots in the future. You'll find a better way to watch it.

Hope it works for you.

An irresponsible marketing

[zengkaiwang · 2/10 · 20 February 2024]

I have rarely seen such greasy and contrived photography, full of deliberate, concave shapes and atmosphere, and an inexplicable Hitchcockian zoom, frequently creating spectacles. The scene where the male protagonist and his fake wife confront each other on the beach is masculine and rustic. This greasy aesthetic is a sin. The second sin is the creation of characters and the theme that the movie wants to convey. Both of these point to the setting of "love brain". Promoting not to be in love is the same thing as promoting girls to pay attention to safety when going out. It is also the setting of the love brain that makes the "evil" side of the male protagonist's motivations greatly weakened because it is an external independent factor. This is not a supplement to the three-dimensional character creation, but an insufficient image creation. Rich excuse. Promoting "Don't be in love" and then amplifying this sentiment through the Internet will only be a shackles that prevents girls from falling in love, rather than a kind of liberation. If I really want to discuss this topic, there should be further criticism of the male characters. This is not about shaping crime stories around the "love brain". Not to mention the ending. This is the viciousness of it.

"It is she who disappeared."

[catocasio · 10/10 · 9 July 2023]

As a lover of thrillers, suspense, and mind puzzles in general, I usually see the surprises coming. It was an extreme pleasure and delight to find that this film kept me guessing, kept me rapt with attention, and made the experience thrilling from start to finish.

A note regarding the casting, which was stellar: Zhu Yilong is an actor with tremendous range who I would watch do anything, anytime, under any condition, and his development as He Fei is mesmerizing, and Ni Ni as lawyer Chen Mai, who had not been on my radar previously, subtly guiles you as she gets pulled into her client's case.

This is absolutely the definition of summer blockbuster and I'll be seeing it again.

Twists and Turns - Gone Girl, who?

[abigailaedwards · 9/10 · 9 July 2023]

This movie surprised me in so many ways.

The plot was initially reminiscent of Gone Girl but boy was I fooled.

The more you watch, the more it draws you in and I would highly recommend a second viewing. Everything was so thought out and no plot hole overlooked. Even the seemingly minor things can be explained by this or that.

It was visually stunning and the acting was superb across all members of the cast. Seriously, major kudos to the leads. I wasn't familiar with any of them going into this but I will definitely keep an eye out now for their future work.

Overall, a wonderful, intense film that, I'm not kidding, had me on the edge of my seat a vast majority of the time.

A MUST TO WATCH

[Sharon_1307 · 10/10 · 27 July 2023]

This movie is definitely a MUST to watch! Trust me, you won't regret after watching it. Just follow the movie and let yourself immerse into the atmosphere and feelings of the movie. The plot twist in the movie blew my mind off the moment the truth is being revealed.

One thing I love about this movie is how they weaved arts flawlessly, in this case Van Ghoh's painting, into the different movie scenes and reimagined Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata to create the intensive feeling for the different scenes.

Another thing that I'm impressed with is Zhu Yilong's acting. I've to admit that I've watched quite a few of his dramas and movies and this round he really gave me a VERY big surprise! Kudos to him for playing He Fei so well in the movie that he left me with a very deep impression during the end of the movie.

Lastly, kudos to the team for the effort put in to produce this movie! I really enjoyed the whole experience when watching it.

Amazing !

[l-73572 · 10/10 · 6 August 2023]

Last month, I went to Shenzhen for work and went to watch the movie "Lost in the Star". It was my first time watching a movie in a crowded cinema, and I felt very good. All the audience were surprised by the reversal and reversal of the plot, and finally ended the movie in tears and an unbelievable state. The level of dedication made the two hour movie time as tense as a roller coaster ride, and all the actors' performances were appropriate, The lead actor Zhu Yilong contributed a great performance because his performance made the entire plot more authentic and credible, and also completely immersed the audience in the movie. This is a great movie, and I will also watch other films by Zhu Yilong in the future.

Chinese Hitchcockian Thriller

[Mabkid · 8/10 · 8 October 2023]

Lost in the Stars is a mystery thriller about a man (He Fei) who is looking for his missing wife while on an anniversary trip to a fictional Southeast Asian country. Even more confusing is that a woman whom he doesn't recognize turns up claiming to be his missing wife. What follows is a succession of new clues and past stories that add more to the mystery, culminating in an explosive finale.

Although there are twists and turns, please also note that this is adapted from a 1960 French play which was also adapted before in an Alfred Hitchcock movie and a 1990 Russian movie. The Chinese adaptation is also done very well in its own right.

The pacing and acting are done well. Viewers are left at the edge of their seats amidst the conspiracy and paranoia. The story seems far-fetched at times but comes together at the end as to why the characters themselves behave the way they do. The vivid colors of the setting lend visual eye candy to this imaginary Southeast Asian country as well.

The twists propel the mystery to n a fascinating way, especially the multiple reveals toward the end. You really feel part of this intense ride from start to finish.

I was the Bully

[pipernback · 10/10 · 1 July 2023]

You heard me. I'm the girl who set the whole movie into motion. The movie was unexpectedly delightful, and I've never seen anything so well done that's Chinese. The twists and turns were surprising and the different viewpoints with unreliable narratives fit into place piece by piece. The ending was beautiful, and the movie theatre was filled with stifled sobs. Now we can argue, and it will be proved true in the end, that that bully made the entire movie start and end. The tensions were played perfectly between the (dare I say) Fake Li Muzi and HeFei. A bit of confusion about the not quite in tune switches between English and Chinese but still quite a page turner, if it had pages. Also, Hassels quite a jem. You need to watch this, just not with kids younger then 14. So beautiful.

Heart-broken ending! Unexpectedly good!

[phebychow · 10/10 · 7 September 2023]

Given that the suspense-themed films have become my all the time favour like Gone girl, Invisible Guest, I did enjoy all those twists and turns with the reversal of the plot in the end. In this movie, the director is good at creating atmosphere of suspense and horror which I'm totally obsessed with it. Three actors are impressive and give such a good chemistry, and surprisingly Jenice Man can act that creepy! It's not just a good "brain-burning" one, it is difficult for us to figure out the whole picture of the incident. In the end, the starry night in the deep ocean is so sad and is good enough to make everyone cry.

Near Perfection Thriller Masterpiece

[drewdenator · 9/10 · 5 September 2023]

Went into this show not expecting anything. But to say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. The storywriting is excellent, with brilliant transitions, progression and twists and turns, the entire cast did a fantastic job at characterisations and bringing the plot to life.

Had my attention throughout, which is something I can't say for a lot of the more western takes on a similar genre.

The show also delivered a powerful underlying message on how addiction will ruin you and those around you.

Overall, it was a thrilling emotional and intellectual rollercoaster, but a rollercoaster that I enjoyed and left feeling my money's worth.

It has to be on your must-see list for the year!

[k-06018-61678 · 10/10 · 9 August 2023]

I will say Lost in the Stars has big ambitions and pays close attention to many real-life issues. It reveals the complexity of humanity while getting to the bottom of the case. It demonstrates the brutal truth in the softest way and exposes the darkness of human nature in extremely beautiful scenes. Oh dear, let me rewrite that poem, do not go gentle into that starry night! I The end of the movie really sent chills down my spine.

I would definitely recommend a second viewing. As a matter of fact, I've watched this movie over and over again. When I watch the story from God's perspective, I see much more details and that experience is rather interesting and fascinating.

Of course, I must praise the performance of the leading man, Zhu Yilong. It is he that makes this story great. So young he is but able to show such a professional and brilliant performance! I am totally amazed that he brought the character of He Fei to life and every audience is just simply shocked!

Fantastic Imagination

[i-01124-74778 · 10/10 · 21 July 2023]

"Immanuel Kant said that there are two things in this world that I am awed by when I think of them: the stars above us and the moral law within us, and hefei said, ok!"

1. The Starry Night can be used to indicate the murderous intent behind the fog 2. You are looking into the Abyss, and the Abyss is staring back at you. Good and evil lie in a single thought.

3. The advanced use of music, plot ups and downs Zhu is handsome and his acting is touching.

4. also kept in a cage; A poison wrapped in sugar;Where does the soul dwell;and Single Loop:Why do those who love me cage with me. Why It Hurts to hug.

A good mysterious movie

[ryanmo-35178 · 9/10 · 11 September 2023]

Always wondered how come this movie is so highly recommended? As the main actress was not that good before. After watching it by myself, just could not agree more. The movie is about a man finding his missing wife, and suddenly a gal claiming as his wife appeared, where she knows all the info of the wife. At first just thought it was with old story that she is the friend of the wife and tried to replace her, and with more info disclosed, it was the best friend of the wife ( a drama director) who is using her actors to act this to disclose the fact ( the wife was already killed by the husband) the ending was sad but it explained everything clearly and at least I dun have find any contradiction. Would like to watch again!