Starfisher

Written and directed by Anthony Ferraro and independently produced for his YouTube community, ‘Starfisher’ follows exactly what the title proposes: an old man fishing among the stars hoping to catch “the big one”.

This piece opens with the Ernest Hemingway quote “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” A particularly poignant quote for multiple reasons. The first of which being that the film was made on a rather modest budget of absolutely nothing, a testament to the passion and creativity of the team behind it. The other reason being the inspired similarities between this and The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway himself, albeit with a fun science fiction twist. The story also draws striking parallels to Moby Dick with the Starfisher searching for his own ‘white whale’.

The most immediate spectacle of the film is the excellent production design by Aidan James Hansen. The surfaces feel grimy, the tech seems functional and the surroundings look lived in, with blinking buttons and lights providing an effective excuse to light the protagonist in interesting ways – something cinematographer Jon Schweigart takes full advantage of, always keeping each frame engaging to look at. Even Matthew Patterson Curry’s subdued but effective score elevates the design and cinematographic work produced by his peers, creating a summative and powerful tone that leaves the audience with a calm and lonely feeling as we drift through outer space.

Regrettably the immersion created by this atmosphere is broken when the film cuts to its VFX shots, which are jarringly low quality in comparison to the impressive practical visuals. Now, keeping in mind that this film was made with no money whatsoever, I’m aware that criticism may seem null and void. However this criticism lies not with the quality of work on display but rather the creative choice behind it. For example if as viewers we only saw glimpses of the alien from out the window, utilising practical and VFX assets in the same shot (much like at the end of the film), we may find the limited peeks at it more effective in creating a more vivid version of it in our imaginations. This would also add a more mythical quality to the creature. In this case, less is more. Another nitpick that may put off audiences is the computer’s voice, which is hard to understand at various moments.

With mentions of the Starfisher’s family throughout the course of the film, we are led to believe that he has abandoned them in search for this creature. However we are never told why. This seems to be done with the intention of focussing the narrative, but in this case leaves the viewers with the possibility of disliking the protagonist – especially with no frame of reference on how or why we should empathise with his perplexing choice.

Ultimately ‘Starfisher’ is a charming tale putting an enjoyable spin on iconic literary classics. Despite no budget, this fable is able to offer spectacular production design, stellar cinematography, and is a magnificent feat of resourcefulness and creativity.