The film's reception

In Sel, These Very Stars became the highest grossing film of all time, breaking the previous record set by You and Me at the Edge of the World. Many hot takes circulated among Selenite critics and academics, among them that the "land without rivers" was, depending on the nationality of the critic, Tux, Vetiver, or Sel; that the ambassador was a surrogate for Arabella Rye (or the real-life Selenite princess rumored to be Rye's partner); that the princess represented Dimitri Phalaenopsis, with the hermit and ambassador being his lesser self and better angel. Theorists analyzed the choreography and visual effects, musing about the implications of abstracting, fracturing, and multiplying the human form, particularly as it pertained to the vast military-industrial complex in Vetiver. Bloggers wondered: "Was These Very Stars truly a non-political film, as its director claimed? Can creative acts ever be non-political?"

Nevertheless, the film was met with almost universal acclaim and especial praise for Dimitri Phalaenopsis (despite Arabella Rye's much more foundational contributions to the film, and the fact that the role of the princess was far more emotionally and vocally demanding than that of the hermit). The few who questioned the film's substance could at least grant that it was audacious in its ostentation.

As was the case with all foreign films, These Very Stars was not distributed in Tux on account of its potential to incite subversive or treasonous beliefs. Undeterred, Tuxedo residents scraped pirate satellite feeds, downloaded clips, generated fansubs, and reassembled the clips into narratives which were circulated (along with karaoke versions of all the songs) throughout the district of Penumbra, where they were screened in abandoned warehouses and gyms. "Songs from These Very Stars" even became its own category in several Penumbra karaoke circuits.

Because Tuxedo pirates were unaware of the original order of the scenes, however, and because no one in Tux was allowed to learn or speak Selenite, the various Tuxedo "cuts" of the film bore little resemblance to the original. Among the Tuxedo variations of the film: the fisherman was actually the ambassador in disguise; the princess--not the ambassador--was the spies' target; the spies succeeded in starting a war; the spies ended up in prison; the film ended where the official version began: with the princess and fisherman sitting beside each other on the beach.

These Very Stars was distributed in Vetiver with Vetiverian subtitles and only one substantive change: the Vetiverian Decency Board objected to the imagery and lyrics in the reprise of "Pretty secret smile," so when the film was screened in Vetiver, audiences were expected to sit in silence and darkness for four minutes and thirty-three seconds.

Vetiverians quickly made up alternative lyrics and choreography that were even racier and–dare I say–even more "creative" than the original. When screens abruptly cut to black for the "Pretty secret smile" reprise, entire audiences would leap out of their seats and perform the alternative number with tremendous gusto. The Vetiverian version of "Pretty secret smile" circulated among all three countries on pirate radio and cassette tapes, becoming an underground hit in Sel and Tux–particularly the Bubblecore, Stankwave, and Fungal remixes.