A happy, rap-infused road trip film

Katherine Propper's debut film is a road trip film full of good vibes and the joy of making music. Lost Soulzbegins with an aspiring musician named Sol – played with easy-going, introverted charm by rapper Suave Sidle – leaving home for the first time. He joins a Brockhampton-esque group of rap crooners who head to El Paso to perform. It's a long journey, especially for seven people sitting in the same van, but they pass the time easily by tinkering with new lyrics, telling stories and just goofing around.

Due to the sheer number of bodies crammed into the van, we don't get to know these Gen-Zs all that well. Seven (Aaron Melloul) is a brooding troublemaker and Mao (Alexander Brackney) is a wild-haired, good-natured big guy with a sweet set of pipes. Froggy (Micro TDH) is a versatile Latino rap singer who seamlessly switches between styles and languages, while Big Loko (Tauran Ambroise) has an endearingly sleepy demeanor. Finally, we have Kai (Malachi Mabson) and the group's manager, Nina (Krystall Poppin), whose duties range from planning their activities on the streets to schmoozing with the police when one of them gets into trouble.

Lost Soulz is less interested in fleshing out any of these characters and more interested in simply enjoying the energy between them. Composed by the cast themselves, the film's soundtrack features an infectious mix of upbeat party tracks and hazier, more introspective tunes. At one point, the group books a date at a studio to try to record new music. It's electrifying to watch them build a track line by line, working their way toward the right rhyme scheme. Some version of this scene appears in almost every music biopic, but they rarely have the sense of organic creation that comes through so clearly in them Lost Soulz.

The freestyles continue once they're back on the road: one character starts a verse and hands it off to someone else, and soon everyone's passing the beat around the van like a hacky sack. The film moves in the same simple, unstructured way, with one scene flowing into another and hours and days blending together under the Texas sun. It's often converted into the thin format of a TikTok video or grainy Super 8 footage, giving the entire film a scrapbook feel.

That's it really Lost Soulz it's about trying to capture the moment, even if it eludes you. Graffiti is a recurring motif, with the crew scribbling on almost any unattended surface they come across. A bit of color splashed onto the world to simply say, “I was here.”

At the end of the film, we hear a Bible quote – “A generation passes away, and another comes… The sun also rises, and the sun sets, and hastens to the place where it rose” – that the entire group is already out of My own experience knows bones at this point in time. This sunlit part of her life cannot last forever. The ride will be over, they'll reach their destination, and at some point they'll probably have to spend their time doing something other than hanging out and playing music.

On the last leg of the journey Lost Soulz adds a few clumsily dramatized scenarios, including some barely motivated character conflicts and two drug overdose cases. These moments all feel like a film is trying too hard to get to the heart of a big theme or heavy emotional moment. And that's really not necessary, because the best effect comes when you rest on pure vibes.

In a scene midway through the film, the group takes a ride through a wildlife park. They are all incredibly happy to be able to interact with the animals, crack jokes and laugh all the time. And then, as they're brought back to the entrance, Loko sadly asks something that sums up the melancholy on the edge of this sunny, happy road movie: “It's over already?”