I Am Your Father

I'm amazed by the low ratings and unkind reviews this documentary gets. It seems a lot of people didn't get from this documentary what they wanted, which is indeed different from what I felt the makers intended.

It's not only about 'the actor that played Darth Vader' or 'the man behind the mask', it is about a man who has worked six years on a job and did it extremely well, but who, till this very day, was not given the chance to finish his hard work to his own satisfaction, dictated by misunderstandings and prejudice with his employer. It is about how everybody sees this man deserves rehabilitation and recognition but does not receive it from his former employer.

Every good documentary has a story line: it has a starting point, often posing some sort of goal, a middle part where it is attempted to reach that goal, often with the introduction of a new set of problems that need to be solved first, and finally a conclusion, where the goal is achieved or where the gathered information raises new questions.

The dissatisfaction that you might feel about this particular documentary didn't come from the makers, it is just part of the story they tell. I might not be happy with the conclusion, but I am very happy I got to hear this story.

The directors of this documentary, who are Star Wars fans from his childhood, have done a good homage to actor Dave Prowse, the man behind the mask of Darth Vader.

Through several interviews with people directly involved in the making of the original Star Wars trilogy the film discovers the reasons that affected the relationship between Prowse and Lucasfilm after finishing the shooting of the original trilogy. Fortunately the film provides different opinions about this matter.

Last but not least, their homage also extends to other great film actors that played evil roles behind a mask.

This documentary is a nice enough retrospective on the history and legacy of veteran British Hammer Horror film actor David Prowse, the actor who filled the dark shape of Darth Vader in the original trilogy of Star Wars films.

However, the documentary teases throughout a particularly fanboy mind-blowing scene in which the director of the documentary allows Prowse to reprise the penultimate scene in Return of the Jedi in which Darth Vader, who lay dying, removes his mask and reveals his face to his son Luke for the first time.

In the original film, Sebastian Shaw played the face of the man behind the mask, much to the chagrin of Prowse. The director of this documentary teases that he has reshot this scene with Prowse restored to the role of the dying Vader, and very nearly shows part of it, but cuts away before fans are treated to what they have dreamed of seeing since 1983.

Given that Disney allows fan films to be made in the Star Wars universe, and that Lucasfilm has had a long history of doing so, showing this to the world would cost the director nothing. Granted, Lucasfilm did not give permission, but Lucasfilm doesn't give tacit permission to anyone who asked to do something specific with the Star Wars universe if there is a profit involved. For a not-for-profit cause, such as just showing the clip to all of us fanboys really want to see the scene, it would cost them nothing. All it does is tease your interest all the way through the credits, hoping you will see it in this documentary.

Spoiler warning: you don't.

I have been a Star Wars fan my entire life and have never really thought about the man who was in the Darth Vader costume. This movie did a great job of telling his story and I'm really glad I watched it.

The scene towards the end of "Return of the Jedi" where Darth Vader is de-masked is iconic in the Star Wars pantheon. Once Star Wars went from "a franchise" to "a phenomenon", that scene was dug into even further and scrutinized for that fact that David Prowse, the man behind the suit for the first three episodes, was not the face shown (that of Sebastian Shaw) when Luke removes the mask. In "I Am Your Father", filmmakers Toni Bestard and Marcos Cabota set out on a quest to find out what Prowse is up to these days and perhaps even re-create that iconic scene...this time with him in the mask.

The reason this is a watchable documentary is because Prowse has been marginalized in the history of Star Wars, not welcome at many gatherings, reunions, and conventions. As such, he is a bit of a mystery that deserves a light being shed on it. I mean, this was the guy who played the actions of Darth Vader (perhaps the most iconic baddie in film history), and it takes an indy film director to find him? Hmmm.

That being said, there are two major problems with "I Am Your Father" that keep it at a middling star rating:

1. The filmmakers really take some jabs at George Lucas, many of which are not deserved. To put it bluntly, the Star Wars creators had every right to choose Shaw over Prowse, and they had their reasons for doing so. Rumors also abounded (with some proof to that effect) that Prowse would often talk to the press about movie spoilers before premiere dates, so that could explain how he was treated when Shaw was indeed chosen. Is it perhaps a bit low that Prowse isn't invited to any LucasFilm functions? Maybe. But to even insinuate that Prowse was "owed" his face in "Jedi" is a bit far-fetched.

2. A lot of the documentary builds towards the re-creation of the Prowse scene...and then the climactic moment isn't even seen! Maybe I missed something, but I felt rather let down that I didn't seen the entire re-creation of the scene.

Overall, while I enjoyed learning more about David Prowse in "I Am Your Father", it really deserves its three-star rating because of how it focuses a bit too much on old grudges/rumors that are "he said, she said" scenarios. The life of Prowse should have been the focus all along here, and when it is this doc shines.