I Am Your Father
★★★ (G)
A while ago I reviewed Elstree 1976, featuring interviews with some of the lesser known actors in Star Wars (1977) and thought David Prowse could be worth a documentary on his own. Filmmakers Toni Bestard and Marcos Cabota thought the same thing and made a film devoted to the man behind the mask of Darth Vader.
Part biography, part fanboy tribute, it's flawed but poignant and interesting for Star Wars buffs. They discuss the octogenarian Prowse's life and career and investigate why Prowse was not used as the face of Anakin Skywalker when the mask was taken off in Return of the Jedi. They also set out to recreate that moment on film with Prowse, finally, getting to play the part.
Bestard and Cabota are unabashed fans of Prowse and sometimes their hero worship is excessive. They present one convincing case – that he was not the source for a leak that irked Lucasfilm at the time of Return of the Jedi – but tend in their interviews and commentary to avoid moving much beyond their own party line in seeking reasons why he was not used as the voice or face of Darth Vader and why he was banned from official Star Wars conventions (George Lucas declined to be interviewed). It feels like there's more to the story than we're getting here.
And what should have been the climactic recreation falls utterly flat, presumably for legal reasons.
There were no extras.