Lighting Up the Stars (2022)

Lighting Up the Stars finds something quietly miraculous in a setting most movies avoid: the day-to-day world of a mortician, filmed with such warmth and humanity that it becomes a place where second chances can actually take root. Zhu Yilong gives Mo Sanmei a rough-edged tenderness that sneaks up on you, and when Yang Enyou’s resilient, sharp-eyed Wu Xiaowen enters his life, the film turns into a gentle, deeply felt dance between grief and laughter. It’s the kind of drama that earns its emotions—never syrupy, often funny in the way real life is funny, and ultimately memorable for how it honors love without denying loss. Fair warning: it lingers in themes of death and has some intense moments, but if you’re open to a heartfelt comedy-drama about human connection, this one glows long after it ends.

Lighting Up the Stars is clearly aiming for a warm, quietly redemptive drama about an emotionally stunted man learning to care again, set against the unusual backdrop of funeral work. It’s often touching, but it’s also deliberately slow and sentimental, leaning hard on “unlikely family” beats that can feel familiar if you’ve seen a few of these tearjerkers before. The mortuary setting and moderate intense moments may be heavier than you expect, and the lead’s constant smoking and a brief unwanted-kiss moment could be off-putting depending on your tolerance. If you’re in the mood for a gentle, character-led cry with solid performances (especially from Zhu Yilong and the child actor), it delivers; if you want subtlety, brisk pacing, or something less emotionally manipulative, you may want to pass.