The Book of Stars

This movie is all about love and facts of life. May be that is the way which love,solidarity and hope really need to be told. Book of stars may be the story of the ordinary people' life that don't hide behind the painted masks.

"The Book of Stars" is a tale of two sisters; a 15 year old who is dying (Malone) and an older sib (Masterson) who turns to prostitution to pay medical expenses while trying to cope emotionally. With the look and feel of a low budget indie, "Book..." comes off like a weeper with a purpose although that purpose never quite crystallizes in spite of a brief narrated explanation at the end. The film showcases some solid performances by its ensemble cast and has many poignant moments which make it a worthwhile watch. However, the attempt to be visually poetic and work the "star" angle is nebulous (no pun) and a little less window dressing might have worked better though the final product does show sensitivity, heart, and compassion. An okay watch best saved for cable.

This is one of those small independent gems that apparently the studios refused to take a chance on and as a result is being seen solely on videotape and at assorted film festivals. I just had the pleasure of viewing it at the Sedona Film Festival, where after one showing word of mouth spread and the second and last viewing was packed. One of the things that made this film so memorable for me is that it took what could have been a terribly maudlin plot line -- one sister dying of cystic fibrosis being cared for by an older sister -- and elevated it to what I found to be a fascinating story of redemption and inspiration. It helps that the older sister is a cynical hooker, played by the ever-effective Mary Stuart Masterson, and that the younger sister is upbeat without being ickypoo cute, as played by Jena Malone, who no doubt is bound for glory despite's this film's failure to get wide distribution. Delroy Lindo, always effective but perpetually underused, is also marvelous as a kindly yet prickly friend to both sisters.

Finally, I shed tears at the end of this film, and I'm a cynical writer.

I worked on the production team for the movie as the office intern during the summer of 1998. I saw the film grow just to see it cut off when no studio would pick it up. But I got to see a screening of it with Mary Stuart Masterson's parents in NYC, and by the time it was over most of the theater was crying. It's a great movie with great performances. And the score is something to be experienced. I've never been so blown away by the music in a film. Find a copy of this if you can, because it's a great film that no one has heard of.

I recently saw this film at the Stony Brook Film Festival. It was a very beautiful and emotional film. Jena Malone's performance was incredible. I'm sure we are going to see a lot of her in the future. I was fortunate to speak with Jena at the reception before the screening and I was amazed by her intelligence and poise. I also spoke with the director, Michael Miner, known for writing the Robocop films. It was obvious that this was a labor of love for him and he did a wonderful job. Mary Stuart Masterson's performance is one of her best. Delroy Lindo also provides capable support and Karl Geary gives a great performance as a Hungarian soldier. His accent was amazing. He must of had a good dialect coach considering he is from Ireland.