WISHING ON A STAR

Luciana de Leoni d’Asparedo, 63 years old, lives in a decrepit castle from which she practises active astrology –  to help her troubled clients (women in search of love, confused young men, businessmen on the verge of a nervous breakdown) feel fulfilled and be reborn, she prescribes trips to remote places. In this hybrid documentary, Péter Kerekes employs structured narration to capture real – and somewhat unbelievable – stories, as real as life itself. In this film, with its deadpan Roy Andersson-like humour, he explores the universal need for purpose, even if it means wishing on distant stars. The discomfort of recognising ourselves in those who seek to cure their first-world problems in exotic aparthotels ultimately gives way to an optimistic outlook, offering us something to believe in – cinema. Sometimes the stars do align.