The period trappings - which must have cost a bomb - are lush and smartly deployed without being heavy-handed, and the two young leads are very watchable.

There's a grit and urgency to "To the Stars," of something bigger and darker coming along with the changing times.

To the Stars seems downcast, at first glance, but it serves as a gentle, lovely reminder that one true friendship, even forged amid adversity, can be enough to keep you looking skyward.

While Stephen's production is not an innovative film that bends the standards of cinema, it's certainly an eye-opening coming-of-age story.