THE STAR MAKER
(L' UOMO DELLE STELLE)
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1996 Ben Hoffman
Foreign language films, when well made, have a charm all their own and THE STAR MAKER is in that class. It holds you in its grip as the story unfolds and while nothing earth-shaking appears to be happening, little by little what we have been missing begins to surface.
From one little Sicilian village to another, Joe Morelli (Sergio Castellio), a con man, travels selling dreams to the poor inhabitants for a fee. Morelli looks like a good man, which is a requisite for that kind of job. He comes with a truck laden with camera equipment and reels of film (long since expired) and over his loud speaker he offers the good people, the farmers and the workers, and the women of the town, the chance of a lifetime. For a fee he will give a screen test, and if he thinks you have what it takes to be a star who will make millions, he will forward the test to Rome where big time directors will give their opinion and send for you. He does, however, make no promises.
Naturally, Morelli finds in every face in the village a potential star. He takes them inside the tent he has set up and cajoles them into speaking. If they do not know what to say, he gives them some famous lines from GONE WITH THE WIND. If they falter he encourages them to say anything that comes to mind. Thus the personal lives of the conned are revealed. The urge to do well spurs them on to tell all.
One such is the beautiful girl, Beata (Tiziana Lodato) who was brought up in a convent since she was a baby. She dreams about going to Rome and becoming a big star and is willing to do anything (which she has never done before) to raise the money for the screen test.
The film is, not surprisingly, very good as the director is the one who gave us the wonderful CINEMA PARADISO. STAR MAKER has its dark moments but they only reveal the harm the con man has inflicted on these poor people but gullible villagers.
In Italian with English subtitles.
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.
3.5 Bytes 4 Bytes = Superb 3 Bytes = Too good to miss 2 Bytes = Average 1 Byte = Save your money
Ben Hoffman
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