Frankie Starlight

Frankie Starlight is a life-affirming drama with a style all its own. The story's starting point is present-day Ireland, where the protagonist Frank Bois enjoys enormous success with his debut novel, which is largely autobiographical. It begins in France, where Frank's mother, Bernadette, grows up and where she is proclaimed a saint. Strange things happen when Bernadette is present, but the girl herself cannot bear the pressure, so she flees by boat to the USA. She never gets that far, though. Bernadette is caught, but she manages to escape the customs officer, Jack Kelly, who is questioning her. They happen to run into each other again. Jack Kelly, who is fascinated by the young girl, helps her when she is to give birth to a child conceived on the ship, and becomes her lover.

The child is Frank, and the rest of Bernadette's story is his too. When Jack Kelly has faded out of the picture, the Texan Terry Klout turns up, a prince on a motorbike who never forgot the girl on the ship on his journey home to America. Just as Jack Kelly was long Frank's role model and mentor, Terry now acts as a surrogate father. The relationship between Bernadette and Terry, however, cannot survive the move to the wide-open spaces of Texas. Back home again, Bernadette realises that she is pregnant once more, but this time she gives up. This is where Frankie's novel ends, but not the film, which deals with the author's problems with women, for who could love a dwarf? He actually finds someone who can, Emma, who is also part of his past.

Frankie Starlight is about life's strange twists of fate in a world that is basically populated by good and well-meaning people. The film is heading towards magic realism without taking the step fully. For example, the film suggests at the beginning that Bernadette has supernatural powers. She remains an enigmatic figure. Her suicide is sad, but it is outweighed by Frank's newfound happiness. A small, surprising gem.