Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Release the Stars

Author(s): Sergio (Spain)
Release the Stars

Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Written by Craig Pearce
Music by Craig Armstrong, Rufus Wainwright
Cinematography by Donald McAlpine
Edited by Jill Bilcock

Principal Cast:

Gillian Anderson as Theresa
Emily Blunt as Nadia
Rosario Dawson as Adriana
Taye Diggs as Martin
Thandie Newton as Vivian
Guy Pearce as Solomon
Jim Sturgess as Bruce
Rufus Wainwright as Billy Rouge
Patrick Wilson as Daniel

Tagline: I SOS U

Synopsis:

Release the Stars is the day of the revolution, the 12th Saturday of the year, the expected day when the New-Apollo will land on earth again after its mission on Mars. The 2012 war is almost over and now, nine years after, people need new illusions and hopes. But these are very oppressive days and the world is not the same as few years ago.

Martin Reyes is the first man on Mars and he is the new global hero. The mission has been very successful and now all the crew returns home to be with their families again. A big parade is prepared in NY to receive the heroes, but nothing has been so perfect on space and Martin has usurped the place of the real first man on Mars, Daniel: his friend and the victim of a polemic political decision. But Martin is an honest man and his bad conscience is killing him.

Nadia has just arrived to NY to be an actress. Theatre and cinema are forbidden, as many other expressions of creativity and art, so many actors and musicians has been sentenced to jail. Actors play in secret nomad places underground and after a while Nadia gets in a company. Theresa is one of the best Broadway directors and now she secretly lives imprisoned in a clandestine refuge besides her wife Adriana. Theresa has written a play based upon his life in the last nine years and she has found her leading actress in Nadia.

Adriana is a free-lance journalist. She belongs to a revolutionary group as her close friend Bruce, a young novelist who is now the new leader of the NY team. He is the head behind the big manifestation of the “12th Saturday”. Bruce distributes leaflets for the manifestation with all his team and with Solomon, his right-hand man.

Solomon is a mysterious man who has lots of contacts. Nadia joins in the theatre company by the hand of Solomon, where she will meet Bruce, starting an impossible love story with him. Solomon’s only friend and colleague is Vivian, a powerful and rich woman who is always requesting him to make some kind of secret jobs.

Billy Rouge is one of the singers of a secret concert the night before of the revolution day. There is a roundup but he can escape. He has been betrayed by his close friend and patron Vivian. All the singers are arrested by the U2021 law and all are moved to prison by one of the government secret agents, Solomon.

The big parade with the New-Apollo astronauts will be broadcasted all over the world. Vivian Reyes is the hero’s wife and everything has to be perfect the most important day in her husband’s life. But if she wants the glory she has to stop the revolutionary group with the help of Solomon and the rest of the secret agents. Billy Rouge warns his sister Nadia about a massive roundup before the parade and they run to the theatre to warn the company. She tries to warn Bruce and the revolutionary group but maybe it’s too late. All is prepared for the big day, the day all their lives will collide, the day they will try to release the stars.

What the press would say:

Baz Lurhmann breaks the rules of cinema making again with a movie between the classic coral movie, with multiple and interlaced stories, and the most modern Broadway show. This is definitively his most social and “serious” film but keeping the pure Luhrmann style. Luhrmann has created his own visual style and you can hate or maybe you can love it, but it never leave you indifferent. This movie is not what you will expect if you are trying to see another “Moulin Rouge”, this is the natural evolution to a new language, new visual concepts with a strong story and characters. The links between the characters are solved in a brilliant way and it makes this screenplay one of the most amazing experiences of the year. The cast is conformed by a group of great actors and actresses that create the magic atmosphere of this movie. Some of them sing and some of them just act but they fit their characters brilliantly, so we can hardly stand out one over the rest. Some of them have previous experience in musicals and others have surprised the audience with their voices. This is not a musical in the strict meaning of the word because of the dramatic quality of the screenplay but the music and lyrics are an important part of the storyline. The songs give an enormous strength to the drama and they turns this film into a incredible experience. When you see this film you have the sensation of being part of one great story, believable, touching and entertained quality movie. You can feel the epic in its amazing art direction, its unique cinematography and its “je ne sais pas quoi” that makes this movie one of the inevitable cinematographic references of the season.

FYC:
Best Picture: Musical/Drama
Best Director: Baz Lurhmann
Best Original Screenplay: Craig Pearce
Best Supporting Actress: Gillian Anderson
Best Supporting Actress: Emily Blunt
Best Supporting Actress: Thandie Newton
Best Supporting Actor: Guy Pearce
Best Supporting Actor: Jim Sturgess
Best Supporting Actor: Taye Diggs

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