Stardust (2007)

 

Fairytales are pretty awesome most of the time. You know how it will all play out, yet if done right, you don't care and just sit there with a humongous grin on your face until the tale ends. Good is good, evil is evil, love prevails: you know the drill. And if the story has humour and memorable characters, it will become even better.

Just to say: 'Stardust' is friggin' awesome and I can't help but love it every time I see it again. 

Well, it is based on a book by Neil Gaiman and the man himself helped with the script, which will make those in the know realize that this is not just another fairytale. 

In the rather quaint village of Wall, young Dunstan Thorne is curious what's behind the, well, wall after which the town is named. It is said that there is a magical land beyond, but no one is allowed across. He manages it and discovers a weird town and a marketplace where he instantly connect with a beautiful woman. They spend the night together and Dunstan doesn't think too much of it, until 9 months later a baby is delivered on his doorstep. 

No nasty business or legal issues here: Dunstan just takes care of the child as best as he can. 

18 years later and the baby is now Tristan Thorn, who is hopelessly trying to win the affection of Victoria, who looks nice but is a total bitch. She is of course smitten with Humphrey, one of those hoity-toity snobs and she strings Tristan along. 

Meanwhile, behind the wall in the kingdom of Stormhold, the king is dying and instructs his remaining sons to find a magical medallion, that knocks a star out of the sky. Tristan and Victoria also see the star, and because Tristan is still stupid, he promises Victoria he will bring it back for her, so she would marry him. 

Silly boy.

The star turns out to be Yvaine, a girl; Tristan is a little taken aback that a star actually looks like a beautiful woman. But he wants to take her back to show to Victoria because he still is an idiot at this point. But all is not well, as the head witch Lamia also wants to hunt down the star, as witches need the heart of a star to remain young. 

From then on, it's full blown adventure time, during which Tristan and Yvaine not only meet a lot of quirky characters, but during which they will both discover the meaning of true love.

It's a fairytale: what did you expect was going to happen?

There is a ton more that goes on, but this truly is a case of not wanting to spoil too much. I mean, sure: you know how it will play out in the end, but the journey is so much fun. Not only does this film nicely balance that perfect thread between excitement, a little schmalz and humour, but it is helped enormously by a friggin' brilliant cast, who are all having fun with it. The chemistry between Claire Danes (Yvaine) and Charlie Cox (Tristan) is palpable and they make for an engaging duo to follow. But you will definitely remember the other characters as well. Michelle Pfeiffer goes all in as Lamia, the head witch; Ricky Gervais has a small but funny part and Robert De Niro is brilliant as the sky captain. Sure, he does overdo it a little at one point, but it still stays charming in the context of the film. Oh, and the feud between the princes is thigh-slappingly funny, as they pretty much kill one another and the ghosts then proceed to comment on most of the others' exploits, even if it's rather quickly only Septimus (Mark Strong) who is left. 

You know how there are some films that just bring warmth to your heart and make you smile like an idiot all the while whilst watching? This is one of those films. It is excellently shot, looks beautiful, is tons of fun and will stay with you long after you've seen it. Heck, you'll probably want to make this a regular viewing afterwards and rightly so. 

You know what? I can't recommend this one enough. It's absolutely brilliant.