Based on the 1962 novel Utsukushii Hoshi by Yukio Mishima, A Beautiful Star navigates themes of identity and family ties as they relate to both being human and being not so human, all against the looming presence of global warming.
The Osugi family’s normal existence unravels when TV weatherman Shigeichiro Osugi discovers he is from Mars. Meanwhile, his children, son Kazou and daughter Akiko, also uncover their alien origins from Mercury and Venus, respectively. As the three grapple with their new extraterrestrial identities (and as the only human, mother Iyoko, tries to contend with them), we as an audience are asked to question whether humanity’s responsibility to the health of the environment only counts if you’re human…or if it counts even more if you’re not.
A black comedy rotating between science fiction, dark comedy and environmental woes, A Beautiful Star dares to ask the question: is this beautiful earth better off without us?
Daihachi Yoshida is a Japanese director known for numerous feature-films, including Kuhio Taisa ('09) Pale Moon ('14), The Kirishima Thing ('12) and A Beautiful Star ('17). His film, Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers! ('07) earned him the award for Best Director at the 29th Yokohama Film Festival.