The Star Maker

This attractive Italian film featured an interesting story and some pretty women. It's a story about a man who dupes the natives (Sicilians, in this case) into thinking they could become movies stars after paying money to him to get a personal screen test. This turns out to be a pathetic comment about the unrealistic lure of fame and fortune.

This film really looks good on widescreen DVD. It is gorgeous, just beautifully filmed, and I'm not just referring to the figures on the women.

The dialog is a bit strange, at least to us over here in the States. I suppose this is considered a comedy but I saw it more as a drama. Yes, there are laughs, but it's pitiful how easily people are duped and what their values are.

I found this an entertaining movie all the way through. With the nudity, it's not for kids (hence, the "R" rating.)

The Star Maker tells such a simple story that I was puzzled as to why its emotional impact grew long after I had seen it. It relates a series of encounters of con man `Dottore' Joe Morelli (Sergio Castellitto) with his marks. Like all con men, he sells dreams, in this case dreams of stardom, and some of the emotional power derives from the universal appeal of this con. In part the power lies in the cinematography of contrast and illusion. The contrast of the physical beauty of Sicily with its poverty alone is sufficient to grab your attention. But the most powerful contrast is seen in the faces of the Sicilians during their screen tests. Giuseppe Tornatore magically captures the hopes and the desperations of his would-be stars as they appear before the `Dottore's' camera. They have two minutes to sell themselves and to escape their destiny of poverty and capture their life's ambitions. Then there is the hero's moral dilemma. This is an `everyman' story; `il Dottore' is another poor guy who does what he can just to get by. He grabs our sympathy by demonstrating sympathy for his marks and by making some exceptional decisions along his way. While I was watching, it appeared to be no more that a series of loosely connected tales. Soon afterwards, the complexity and the moral strengths of the tale grew on me and continue to pleasantly persist.

A fast-talker rolls through postwar Sicily selling the dream of movie stardom, and in the process uncovers the desires and desperation of the townspeople. Like a patent medicine salesman, he seduces them with the magic of cinema, more potent than anything from a bottle.

Be prepared for the movie to seduce you, too, with its gorgeously chiseled Sicilian landscapes and faces viewed through the soul-baring lens. It gives a good view of the toughness of Sicily, and every frame has a visual richness typical of Italy itself. If you listen hard, you can make out the Sicilian accent -- even if you don't speak Italian. You'll be able to predict some of what happens, but not all, and the characters and their profiles will linger with you longer than you might expect.

Emotions of enthusiasm break down in sensitive portraits of poor Sicilians who reveal their inner self in two minutes they have in front of a camera. Realism all the way and yet i had to think of the enthusiasm Kusturica had in Black Cat White Cat although none of the characters are that absurd. If you see European movies like this after all the American commercial rubbish you get a glimpse of what film can give us! Good acting and writing, beautiful locations, a lot of strong character studies and very, very impressive camera work. Absolutely not a waste of your time!

This movie, by the director of Cinema Paradiso, "disappointed" a lot of American movie reviewers because it lacks the sentimentality and pat structure of CP. But it's far more epic, poetic & imaginative (& much less PC) and absolutely gorgeous to watch. Ignore the puritans at the NY Times & SF Chronicle. Watch this movie. You won't be sorry.