Stargazing

Warning: This article contains major plot spoilers.

Stardust is worth watching just for one scene involving the best impression of a goat that you will ever see, but the film offers many more delights besides this. The film follows the story of Tristan (Charlie Cox), a young man living in the English village of Wall, who resolves to retrieve a fallen star to prove his love for the beautiful Victoria (Sienna Miller). Crossing the wall after which his home is named, Tristan finds himself in the magical kingdom of Stormhold where fairytales are a daily reality. The star, as Tristan soon discovers, is actually a woman (Claire Danes) named Yvain, who is injured and rather upset about her fall to earth. Undaunted by this development, Tristan begins the long journey home, dragging the reluctant star along with him.

However, Tristan is not the only person with an interest in Yvain. The princes of Stormhold seem prepared to do anything to gain possession of the necklace which knocked Yvain from the heavens, and will secure their succession to the throne. A powerful witch, Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), also pursues the star, intending to cut out her heart in order to restore youth and beauty to herself and her sisters. Inevitably, these characters complicate matters for Tristan and lead him into some exciting adventures. Along the way, Tristan encounters a unicorn and a cross-dressing pirate (Robert De Niro), learns to waltz, gets turned into a mouse, and finally realises that his true love is not Victoria, but Yvain. After a dramatic final battle, Tristan eventually gets his fairytale ending. He is reunited with his long-lost mother (Kate Magowan), inherits the kingdom of Stormhold, and lives forever, having won the heart of his true love.

Intended to appeal to all ages, Stardust aims to evoke ‘the same sense of wonder, the same feeling, the same magic’[1] that ‘classic fairy tales’ inspire in children. Neil Gaiman, author of the illustrated book on which the film is based, is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers,[2] and his dark humour and rich imagination come across very strongly in this adaptation. Described as ‘Princess Bride with a Midnight Run overtone’,[3] the film boasts a stellar cast and has received reasonably positive reviews.

Gaiman summarises the heart of Stardust as ‘about a boy becoming a man, and it’s about that classic fairytale thing of setting out to find something, to prove yourself.’[4] At the beginning of the film, the narrator (Ian McKellen) explains that the story will focus on Tristan’s journey to manhood through winning his true love. He starts off by attempting this in the manner of an archetypal fairytale hero. Settling on Victoria as the object of his affections, Tristan embarks on a mission to bring back a valuable item and thus earn her love. However, Stardust is not a typical fairytale and Tristan’s quest soon runs into difficulties. He eventually learns that true love can be experienced only when he is accepted for who he is.

Tristan is not alone in his desire to prove himself, however. All of the characters in the story strive to improve their lives by fulfilling their personal quests. The princes are desperate to reach the necklace and win the kingdom; the witches crave the life and beauty that only eating the heart of a star can give them; even Captain Shakespeare, the cross-dressing pirate, disguises his true identity because the respect of his crew is so important to him. Ultimately, they must all learn the same lesson as Tristan and be content with the person they are. Captain Shakespeare manages to make this change. When he confesses his unconventional hobby to the rest of the pirates he discovers that they already knew. By admitting who he really was, the captain found out that he had not only the respect, but also the affection of his crew. The princes fail to come to terms with their situation, however. Prepared to do anything for the crown, they all eventually die in pursuit of that goal, and Tristan, who knew nothing of the quest, becomes king. At the finale of the film, it seems that Lamia, the last witch alive by this point, may have finally grasped the idea that immortality is worthless without love and companionship. Seeing her sisters die, she appears to give up her evil plans. However, in the end it turns out that she values immortality above all else, and she too dies trying to achieve it. Through the very different fates of the various heroes and villains, the film presents a clear message that ‘happily ever after’ is only possible when you learn to accept yourself.

Tristan wins Yvain’s heart not by trying to prove his worth, but simply by being himself around her. Having won his true love by accepting himself, he completes his journey to manhood by accepting and returning the unconditional love that she offers. Through his relationship with Yvain, Tristan finds out what love really means: ‘I'd wish for nothing in exchange - no gifts; no goods; no demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine.’ Inspired by this discovery, he returns to Wall to reject Victoria and also ends up besting his former rival for her affections. In this way, the unconditional love Tristan has found enables him to move on from his childish infatuations, and transcend the limitations of the village life he had formerly known. When Yvain is captured, Tristan races to her rescue where he finally meets his long-lost mother, and becomes a real hero by battling the witches and freeing his love. It is the love between Tristan and Yvain that saves them both, enabling the star to shine so brightly that their enemies are burned away (she too realises her full potential only through this relationship). As events are resolved and Tristan discovers his true royal identity, it is their love that empowers him to be a good king, and to live with Yvain forever. Tristan’s transition to adulthood, and the fulfilment of his destiny, is made possible at every point by the unconditional love that has grown between him and Yvain.

Many people might wish ordinary life was more like the kind of fairytale we see in Stardust. We might wish that good and evil were so clearly defined in our world, and that heroism and true love always triumphed in the end. We may dream of finding the love and acceptance that Tristan and Yvain find with each other. We might even wish we could live forever, although we might imagine, like Tristan, that this kind of existence could get quite lonely without someone to share it with. The Bible suggests that these things are achievable. At the start of one account of Jesus’s life, we read that: ‘The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God’ (John 1:9-12, NLT). Unlike Yvain, who was knocked from the heavens by a magical necklace, Jesus chose to come into our world so that those who accept him can receive the unconditional love of God. Similarly to Stardust, the way of attaining this is through acceptance. Trying to win this love through a determined quest of our own doesn’t work. The Bible says that people need to admit to what they are really like – fundamentally flawed and capable of shameful, even wicked, behaviour – and accept that only God is able to change hearts and provide a better life. Accepting Jesus and the love that he came to offer makes us God’s children, heirs of his kingdom, and we get to live forever with him too. It’s quite an impressive ‘happily ever after’. However, like the villagers of Wall, we might want to believe that something magical and spectacular lies beyond our normal experience of life. Like Tristan’s father at the beginning of the film though, we may have resigned ourselves to the idea that what we see is really all there is to life: ‘let's be honest, it's a field. Look, do you see another world out there? No, you see a field. Do you see anything non human? No. And you know why? Because it's a field.’ How can we know if there is a richer world out there? The only way to find out is to cross the wall and take a look.

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