LOST SOULZ - Mark Reviews Movies

Lost Soulz, Kino Lorber

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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 2, 2024

A story doesn't necessarily have to be "about" anything to work. Take Lost Soulz, which is at its best when the movie simply spends time with its characters, as they hang out, talk, and make music together. Writer/director Katherine Propper's debut feature gets at something key about being a struggling, aspiring musician by simply showing us what that life is like.

None of these characters is famous in the traditional sense of celebrity, and adding a sense of authenticity to the material, they're all played by musicians who are probably in a similar position in real life. Sure, the cast members, whose professional experiences are varied and include performing with some well-known artists, are probably known to local audiences throughout Texas, where the story is set, and elsewhere, as well as on online and social media platforms. They're not, however, household names. Based on what we see of them here, they could be one day, and being able to discover that talent is a big part of the movie's charm, too.

It revolves around a young man named Sol (Sauve Sidle). Sol has had it tough, raised by his grandmother, after being left to her by his parents and until her death. That how he ended up living with his best friend Wesley (Siyanda "Yung Bambi" Stillwell) and the friend's family, a younger sister (played by Giovahnna "Gigi" Gabriel), who looks up to Sol like another brother, and his mother (played by Kendra L. Franklin), who accepts him as a part of their home.

Sol is also, we learn, on probation, after being caught selling marijuana. While Sol wants to put all of that behind him, Wesley is still dealing around the neighborhood and, if a pistol that he hides in friend's backpack is any indication, could be getting into more significant trouble.

Some of this matters eventually, which is around the time that Propper's screenplay loses track of the story it's telling. For the most part, though, we're just watching Sol, as he offers an impromptu performance at a local party, impresses fans and those who don't know him alike, and is offered to go on the road with a rap group that's starting a tour the next day. Since he only has his relatively small bubble of real-life and online fans, Sol decides to take the offer to be the group's hype man, leaving behind everything and everyone with little to-do.

With that setup, the movie becomes nothing more than a close-up look at what a life on the road, crammed in a van with people who share a passion for music and have distinct personalities, amounts to. That might not seem like much, but it's fascinating here. Propper's pseudo-documentary style gives us the sense of observing real people, because they are played by actual musicians who surely know a thing or 20 about such a situation, talking music, discussing their lives, bonding over creativity, and, eventually, becoming a bit tense as those personalities clash.

The band is made up of five members and their manager Nina (Krystall Poppin), who can keep up with the group's improvised bars but, for whatever reason, would rather they take centerstage. Mao (Alexander Brackney) is a jovial guy who seems to like everyone, while Seven (Aaron "Seven" Melloul) is the rebel of the group, a self-professed "monster" who doesn't care what other people think of him as long as he can be himself. Those two personalities are so big, in fact, that the remaining trio—Big Loko (Tauran "Big 40 Thrax" Ambroise), Froggy (Micro TDH), and Malachi (Malachi Mabson)—seem relegated to the background.

Once it becomes clear that the exploding tension within the group is the end goal, it makes a bit of sense why movie's focus is limited to a set number among them. That's ultimately the issue with this narrative, which tries to hard to be one, despite the fact that simply watching and feeling a part of the relaxed vibe of camaraderie within this group of characters is telling its own engaging story.

Driving across the state, the group joke and share beats and take turns adding verses to freestyle sessions. Making stops along the way to performances, they take in the sights, shoot footage (on phones and with Nina's old-fashioned camera) for fun or for a music video, and get into trouble, such as when Seven dares the new guy to steal shoes for a Robin Hood-like act. Taking in the landscape of the camper Nina calls home, the seven of them sit around a fire, singing and telling stories about their lives, as they dream about a future that will make all of that and all of this wandering worthwhile.

Gradually, Sol's problems—mainly having to do with Wesley, who ended up in the hospital after the party the night/morning when Sol left for the tour—take focus in Lost Soulz, and the movie abandons its group dynamic, its momentum, and, oddly, its music for a different type of wandering. If the relative aimlessness of the tour gives us a sense of the rewards and trials of being on the road, the third act of the movie tries to force some emotional weight on the cost of such an endeavor, but it's such a jarring shift that even Propper doesn't seem to know what to do with it.

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