The Son of the Stars Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Son of the Stars Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 27, 2023

1984’s “Delta Space Mission” offered a Saturday morning cartoon viewing experience, going wild with adventurous happenings, focusing on delivering a certain level of excitement to support its Romanian animation storytelling. Ambition increases with 1985’s “The Son of the Stars,” which returns to the ways of deep space and colorful creatures, but amplifies surreal intent. It’s a psychedelic viewing experience, with the production basically doing away with measured storytelling to march full steam ahead into a swirl of intergalactic unreality featuring a telekinetic hero and his never-ending quest to understand the unreachable limits of the universe.

Dan is a boy joining his parents, Roxana and Alex, as they tour the galaxy on the ship Argos. Receiving a distress signal, Roxana and Alex travel into dangerous space to rescue Andra, only to end up separated from Dan, who’s joined by supercomputer BOB. Landing on an unknown planet, Dan is raised by a collection of telekinetic aliens who teach the visitor their ways. 12 years later, Dan is a hunter, using his mind control to return to space, soon facing various challenges to his safety, making his way to a confrontation with the all-powerful Van Kleef.

“The Son of the Stars” is built for patient viewers, but even those paying close attention to the details of the story might find themselves lost after the first half. Dan’s experience is relatively easy to follow, with the child collected by alien life, brought up as one of them, including the sharpening of his mind, making him uniquely powerful. He’s ready to help his adopted family, developing a ship capable of returning him to the stars, but the feature soon sets up a strange creative approach, blending dreamlike experiences with mental powers with an almost constant stream of exposition, packing in as much explanation as possible without ever really explaining things.

“The Son of the Stars” eventually melts into a cosmic pudding, with Dan experiencing tests of ability and psychological stamina, pushed into the great unknown to see if he has the mettle to make a difference in the universe. Dramatic potential isn’t quite there, but the rotoscoped animation is always a pleasure to watch, matched with bizarre background art detailing alien landscapes and spaceship tours. “The Son of the Stars” is glorious eye candy, with the production really cranking up their imagination after handling the relative straightforwardness of “Delta Space Mission,” aiming to bend minds with the endeavor, using Dan’s trip through a “space-time maze” to experiment with visual elasticity and genre permissiveness.

The Son of the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "The Son of the Stars" is sourced from a 4K scan of the original 35mm negative. Colors are alert, exploring the strange worlds of the endeavor with defined hues, offering satisfying primaries throughout the viewing experience. Animation textures are appreciable, with a detailed look at artistic efforts. Delineation is satisfactory. Source is in good condition, with a few moments of wear and tear.

The Son of the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 LPCM mix delivers a sharp understanding of dialogue exchanges and narration, with voices emerging intelligibly. Scoring supports with a clear synth sound, handling the strange adventure with satisfactory balance. Sound effects are defined.

The Son of the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historian Samm Deighan.

• Interview (49:34, HD) is a video conference chat with co-director Calin Cazan.

• A Trailer has not been included.

The Son of the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Son of the Stars" takes a few breathers from its epic storytelling interests, presenting viewers with a sword fight involving Dan and a Space Knight, and there's a spaceship battle as well. Various planets and environments are visited, keeping things on the move, but the picture seems best suited for fans of sci-fi literature, who are practiced in the ways of tracking a story that's not always intending to be clear. It's the journey that matters most in "The Son of the Stars," not the destination, presenting wild visions of fantasy realms, tests, and threats, sold with a mighty creative vision.