Robert De Niro in Skirt: “Der Sternwanderer” in Arte

Berlin. Best performances by Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer. Thursday nights at 8:15 p.m. on Arte the fantasy adventure “Der Sternwanderer” starts off a bit poorly.

But director Matthew Vaughn succeeds better and better at transforming classic fairy tale elements into a high-tech cinema format over the course of the film.

The film adaptation of the novel tells the story of a young man who has to undergo all kinds of trials in a realm of fairies, witches, wizards and pirates until he finds his princess. The whole thing is decorated with tons of special effects from Trix’s digital box. This is a perfect movie for the fans of the fantasy genre. It’s definitely a little too cruel for young children.

Michelle Pfeiffer as a Witch

One fateful night, young Tristan (Orlando Bloom: a boy like Charlie Cox) promises his beloved (Sienna Miller) that he will bring a star from the fairy tale kingdom to the other side of the wall dividing the small village. There he meets a fallen star (Claire Danes), who breaks his leg on impact. When Tristan sets out to protect the star and bring her to his great love on the other side of the wall, he meets other supernatural beings. Tristan quickly realizes: everyone who meets the star has his own intentions, some good, some bad, but everyone wants only one thing – their heart.

Together, the two must defend themselves against dark figures, against post-throne princes, and against Michelle Pfeiffer as a witch. Especially with Pfeiffer, who’s aging mercilessly here, makeup artists let off steam; The idea of ​​riding the figure in a goat cart is beautiful too. De Niro is allowed to live out his comical side to the fullest and show that behind the gruesome pirate, there’s actually a softness coupled with the fragility of women’s wardrobe. Ricky Gervais makes a guest appearance as a windy dealer, the lousy boss of the BBC series “The Office”.

“Der Sternwanderer” is a film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name. According to the author’s opinion, the film adaptation is a faithful adaptation in a compressed form, with only a few differences in his book. The fantasy film was shot in England, Scotland, Wales and Iceland.

The pace, wit and special effects are just right: director Vaughn (“Snatch”) has created a film perfect for a cold December evening, which probably pleases not only his wife, Claudia Schiffer.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211221-99-463357 / 2