"Prophet of the Stars" Never Leaves the Ground

Richard Rogers, Clark County Gazette film critic

Few people outside of the county have heard the story of Llisrael Pronflan, self-proclaimed Prophet of the Stars. Unfortunately, this weak movie is unlikely to win Pronflan any new converts.

"Prophet of the Stars" follows Pronflan's life as a young clerk and his growing involvement Emanuel Stargazer's cult. Both Stargazer and his followers are presented in a benign, harmless light, and the "Vision of the Heavens" Pronflan received from Stargazer is a thirty-second lecture on tolerance. No doubt the darker side of the Stargazer cult was edited out to allow for family viewing, but it also kills most of the potential for drama.

Over the next thirty years, Pronflan tris unsuccessfully to re-start the Order of the Stars in Chicago and New Orleans. This is undoubtedly the movie's high point, with one or two genuinely touching scenes of Pronflan's frustration and alienation.

When Pronflan returns to Qualm's Hollow in 1966, he finds willing converts but also a rival, Zoltan Starseeker, and the script becomes formulaic to a fault. Zoltan rants and threatens like a comic book villain, and when Pronflan is shot, it is Starseeker himself who pulls the trigger, rather than agents of Mayor Rodgers as many still believe.

This is a film only for those who are already converted, and they may be most offended by the loose treatment of the facts. If you're looking for a movie about a prophet, rent the Ten Commandments instead.

<Mark: can we show some clips from this one? -DW>