‘Star People’ movie review: an unusual sci-fi adventure
The newly released Star People is an interesting project, introducing itself as a straightforward sci-fi story involving alien invasion, before leading the viewer in unexpected directions.
This is the first feature by director Adam Finberg, following up on his well-received documentary The Business of Recovery, an exposé of the addiction treatment industry. With Star People, he takes on the challenge of telling a story through multiple layers, both realistic and symbolic, managing the complex web of emotions the characters work their way through, in a plot that keeps several balls in the air at once.
The film is centred around the Phoenix Lights, a phenomenon that took place in Arizona in 1997. It consists of an organised array of light formations moving through the night sky. Actual footage of the lights is used early in the movie. Although explained as part of US Air Force training events, UFO enthusiasts took this display to be alien spaceships, an opinion many hold to this day.
Main character Claire (played by actress and singer Kat Cunning) witnessed the lights as a child and has become obsessed with watching the skies where they first occurred as an adult. A professional photographer by day, she watches for signs of alien aircraft by night, sometimes working with fellow UFO followers. Her compulsion has begun to affect her well-being.
The main storyline begins when Claire is asked to record and assess some peculiar lights over the Arizona desert, accompanied by her boyfriend, Justin (Connor Paolo), a UFO podcaster. Claire is also forced by circumstances to bring along her estranged, drug addict brother, Taylor (McCabe Slye).
Conflict among the three provides comic relief as they cope with a variety of inconveniences and dangers, including a record-breaking heat wave and an unexpected addition to their party (played by Eddie Martinez and Adriana Aluna Martinez). Director Finberg’s long career in the technical side of film may be responsible for the distinctive look of Star People and the many scenes that are explained visually rather than through dialogue.
While the question of whether the mysterious lights are alien spaceships, drug-runner drones, or something else entirely is being examined, the plot slowly moves into different territory. In a gradual and seamless shift, the story delves into the reality behind Claire’s search and the real reasons for her UFO obsession.
Revelations about her past relationship with her brother and their family background emerge effortlessly. Even as the UFO investigation intensifies and attracts new dangers, the true nature of each character is tested and revealed, with some surprises. The mysterious lights serve as a catalyst for these revelations and for Claire’s newfound self-awareness.
The ensemble cast works well in the increasingly complicated character study that the film becomes. As the story unfolds, the established characters transform, breaking out of their respective pigeonholes as new qualities, good or bad, emerge. The established identities of the primary characters – hero, villain, threat, victim, or ally – are shown to be false, or at least incomplete, as their real natures emerge under duress.
Even the true nature of the lights themselves becomes more cryptic, parallel to the people viewing them, leading to a conclusion that is mysterious but satisfying. This unusual journey from sci-fi adventure to intense character study is a challenging but beautifully managed piece of work.
