L'Uomo Delle Stelle: The Star Maker

L'Uomo Delle Stelle (known as The Star Maker but correctly translated as The Man of Stelle) was the Italy's 1995 entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was nominated in that category on the big night but didn't win. I didn't know these details until I looked up the movie online. So in short I watched the movie without any expectations on a dull rainy afternoon today in Ohio and for the first time witnessed a film that had countless characters, all relevant to the plot and each one explored quite exquisitely by Giuseppe Tornatore. Until today, I didn't think that was possible.

The movie begins with the gruesome sight of a dead body floating face down in a river. This scene cuts into Joe Morelli's arrival in a small village in Sicily where he puts up a white tent, a camera and some other recording equipment announcing that he is a talent scout who gave many of the famous names in the movie industry their very first break. In two scenes, this film juxtaposes the tense political situation in Italy at the time with the illusory world of movies.

"You could be the next one!" Joe Morelli claims. The people of war ravaged Italy are in dire need of hope. Joe Morelli brings them much needed reason to believe that there is a glamorous place faraway where they could be when they finally left their mediocre lives behind. With his plush tales and gift of the gab, he whisks stardust into the dimmed eyes of these villagers and draws in large crowds of gullible individuals for a screen test. Each test costs them money and every time the camera runs, it captures a story that comes to life, not by dramatic performances or background scores but by a simple narrative.

The people that sit down in front of the camera are all characters and their stories unfold in front of an unlikely vent. Their truths, their wishes, the small things that bring them pleasure, their dreams, all surface with the conversations they have with the camera. Some remarkable scenes include that of a war veteran who speaks for the very first time in front of the camera, the shepherd who looks into the camera and proclaims "Being a shepherd gives me the chance to gaze at the stars", an unmarried woman who at thirty finally spews the uncomfortable truths that have held her back from living her life. And when least expected, one sees undertones of humor.

Never before have I seen beautiful poetry etched into such grave monologues. The cinematography captures dusty hues of a countryside demolished by war. The camera moves at angles where a broken smile, wrinkled hands, a twitching jaw and weary eyes add character to the stories. My favorite scene was where shadows played parts out as light shone upon Joe Morelli's white tent. It looked like art in motion.

An orphan girl falls in love with Joe Morelli for giving flight to the fancies of starstruck crowds. And just as we are about to fall for him too, he turns out to be a conman.The honest eyes and disarming innocence of this enamored young girl follows Joe Morelli in his travel in stark contrast to his guile. For me the realization that the reel which bore witness to such arresting stories was just dead film all along, was a truly sinking feeling. But I realized that this movie is not about the black and white of human nature, it is about the grey nuances, the 'in-betweens' where flawed individuals make their own journeys, oblivious to the effect they have on people aroud them. Joe Morelli dents his own story beyond repair while duping those who gave up their own chronicles for his camera.

Ultimately we all want an unjudgemental eye to look into and profess; and that eye could very well be the unblinking one of a purring, coaxing camera. We want a clear mirror that sometimes lets us face who we are so we can then give into the stories that age our eyes. This movie holds one such magnificent mirror to life.