The film begins with a man narrating the story, which starts 150 years prior to the present day (presumably 2007). A young man, Dunstan Thorne, tries to cross the wall surrounding his village, which is forbidden. But the guard stops him. Luckily, Dunstan tricks him into something and then succeeds in crossing the wall.

He goes into this magical village and meets a woman, Una, who is an enslaved princess until her owner dies. Dunstan falls in love with her.

Nine months later, he meets his newborn son, Tristan, who had to be delivered to him since Una couldn’t be with him. Then 18 years pass to where Tristan has grown up. He leaves his home to see his love interest, Victoria.

Meanwhile, the king of Stormhold, which is located far away, is dying. A few men surround him as he gives orders. He then throws a ruby into the sky and dies. The men go out to search for it.

Tristan has a date with Victoria, who is planning to marry this man, Humphrey, on her birthday. But Tristan really loves her. He even offers to cross the wall to find that star by her birthday in order to marry him. It becomes a deal.

Aside from the men who help the now-dead king, 3 witches are also desperate for power from the star. One of them even eats its heart to become young again. The witches go around town and use magic to get what they want, which includes turning people into animals.

Tristan finds this woman whom he assumes to be his mother, lying on the ground in the crater where the star has hit. But she is not his mom. In fact, she is an irritable person who wants to be left alone. But Tristan is still interested in her. He even takes her with him against her will. The woman’s name is Yvaine.

At some point, Yvaine gets tired and wants to rest. Although resistant at first, Tristan lets her rest by a tree but secures her so that she doesn’t leave.

Hours later, a unicorn finds Yvaine and sets her free. But the two end up trapped somewhere. Even Tristan hears a voice telling him that Yvaine is in trouble. So, he saves her, and even falls in love with her.

But what about Victoria? And the star…?

I have to admit how interesting this movie’s concept was. I’m not going to say if Tristan stays with Yvaine or chooses to marry Victoria. But the idea of him making a deal with her was a unique twist. In fact, this movie does have a lot of surprises.

A major one is the setting. I was surprised to learn that the story takes place in the 19th century rather than a traditional medieval one. Aside from that being less conventional (although not uncommon), the characters dress more like they do in medieval fantasies, such as how women let their hair be exposed. But this does take place in a magical land, so how the characters dress can be different. In fact, I don’t think women were allowed to expose their hair completely until the mid-20th century, according to Google.

Anyway, another aspect about this movie that stands out to me is how there are a few POVs from different characters. Unlike some of the other movies I’ve seen, the POV-switching did not confuse me since it was done more steadily and less frequently. 

Of course, all movies change POVs from different characters. It is just how the filmmakers handle the way that is done that makes it easy or hard to follow.

Overall, I found Stardust to be a good movie. It is worth the watch for both adults and older kids. It is rated PG-13 for violence and a little bit of gut-handling. So, I wouldn’t recommend that little kids watch this, although there is no use of profanity or intimacy scenes that might concern parents. However, there is drinking, but it’s a minor moment.

I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.