Sunshine

Rating:
Summary: Worthwhile and ultimately completely compelling epic
Review: A weighty picture, Sunshine passes over three generations of the Sonnenshine family over the troubled war period in Hungary. Originally the family set themselves up selling Sunshine beer, bearing three children, one of them being Fiennes, who does well as a judge. His son, Adam (Fiennes again) then goes on to win the gold medal in fencing at the Olympics, before being stripped, beaten and murdered in a concentration camp during World War II. Enraged by his father's death and consumed by guilt at not doing anything, Adam's son (played by Fiennes again) joins the Communist party, prepared to do anything he can against the fascist regime. Along the way Fiennes clocks up four women who are passionately in love with him and moves in between politics, family and love.

Whilst at many times feeling like a lavish TV production that could have been serialised in three parts, each one telling the tale of one generation, there is a lot more to Sunshine than may at first meet the eye. Rather than being something that merely prides itself in period detail or the chronicling of history, the movie holds several themes that only truly come together at the very end. The natures of love and of the self are constantly questioned, as well as the question of how can we as humans define ourselves - through our family? Our religion? Our history and what we inherit? For a movie that is so firmly based in politics (and, indeed, has a lot to say on the subject), Sunshine is very focused on the individual. It's almost as if Fiennes' character is improving through each of his forefathers, realising their mistakes as well as his own and therefore true realisation of the movie's 'point' as it were can only truly be found by Fiennes, and the audience, in the film's conclusion.

Fiennes gives an absolutely stunning performance, making subtle character changes as well as simultaneously drawing parallels between each of the generations of the family. Beginning as proud and emotionless, he changes to someone who is capable of but ultimately fears emotion and finally into someone who is driven by and embraces it, something that certainly holds several parallels to the history that serves not just as a backdrop to the characters but also as something that may define them. Of course, it would be unfair to only mention Fiennes when so many other good actors, many who should be recognisable to a British audience, surround him. Jennifer Ehle proves that there is more to her than Pride and Prejudice and puts in another great performance, as does Rosemary Harris who plays her older self. James Fraine is also fantastic as Fienne's rebellious brother in the first story, and Rachel Weissz is again a joy in another sparkling supporting role. And perhaps it is this that makes Sunshine so special, the fact that rather than giving it to us straight, that family and women constantly impinge on the lives of the Sonneshines. This may not be something that you would necessarily watch again in a hurry (purely due to its three hour running time), but it's an experience unto itself and several lines are very moving indeed. Plus, for a story that ends in the 1950's, it feels remarkably universal.

Rating:
Summary: Sunshine is . . brilliant
Review: Rarely does a movie have nearly too many characters and push three hours . . but then again, some of the finest films to grace the screen have such qualities. And Sunshine is one of these films.

Sunshine's strength does not lie primarily, as one might think at first glance, in its unflinching portrayal of the defining trials and tribulations of Jewish Hungary throughout of the 20th Century. Rather, the film convinces with its portrayal of universal human yearnings that, for all their variances and inflections through time, resonate in a single, achingly human voice, just as Ralph Fiennes himself plays the protagonist from each of the three generations of the family depicted in the film.

I was surprised to learn that some think that this movie seeks to propound such asinine positions as 'Jews should not assimilate,' or that the language of 'freedom' or 'security' should be embraced, or discarded. While Sunshine's tale is grounded in the legacy of a people historically marginalized, it behooves us to appreciate not only the unique character of the persons and culture portrayed, but also of the undeniable similarity of the same to all those who may but watch their actions on a screen.

Rarely have such eternal themes such as love, sex, ambition, justice, and compassion been illuminated in so vast a manner, and yet, simulaneously, with such coherence and vibrance. Sunshine is not a film to be missed, but rather, one to be cherished.

Rating:
Summary: GLORIOUS. BUT COULD HAVE BEEN AN EPIC.
Review: Can't remember the last time I sat through a movie for a full 3 hours, but Sunshine had me riveted. What a glorious message of love and joy subordinating almost every other pursuit in our lives.

We follow the travails of a Hungarian family through three generations -- and three political/ideological regimes. The first forty minutes are replete with their own elaborate costume sets and gorgeous locales of Budapest. The second and the third generations depicted find themselves smack in the middle of the Holocaust and the follow-up Stalinisque regime. As the Sonnenchiens (the Sunshine family) live through these times with a great loss of life and blood, there're also invaluable lessons to be learnt.

I felt the movie did not sufficiently capitalize on the emotions between men and women except for the first Sonnenchiens. Instead, there's a lot of unnecessary nudity. I'd be stupid to mind seeing Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) and Deborah Kara Unger (Crash) in ecstasy but it got to be almost redundant because the man was the same, Ralph Fiennes playing a different generation. The music for such an epic could have and probably should have been much more memorable, it was just any generic symphony you'd expect from a romanticized epic-mode film.

But these are petty quibbles. Like other movies of its kind, e.g., "House of Spirits" or "American History X", Sunshine certainly has its faults, but its messages about tolerance, humanity, and redemption are absolutely glorious.

For a 3 hour film, the DVD could surely have done a lot better by breaking the movie into Sors I, Sors II and Sors III sections. It is still a very worthy rental especially if you care about period peieces, political ideas, Ralph Fiennes, or Hungary.

Rating:
Summary: Don't let the length scare you
Review: SUNSHINE is a film about 3 generations of Hungarian-Jewish family and the trials and tribulations that consume them during some of Europe's darkest years--two world wars and more political and social upheavel than I can begin to imagine. SUNSHINE is an historically ambitious film; sadly, however, the character development was the main sacrifice.

Ralph Fiennes portrays 3 different generations of the Sonnenschein family--Ignatz, Adam, and Ivan. The film's distinct partion into 3 different generations is one reason the great length of this film needn't hinder viewers--it's easy to take a break as soon as one sees Ralph morph into a different character.

Beginning with Ignatz, the family's strong Jewish name (Sonnenschein, translated to "sunshine") causes problems. As a young lawyer, Ignatz convinces the family to adopt the name Sors to better their chances of assimilating into the upper echelon of Hungarian society. What follows is a very rapid peek into more than 50 years of Hungarian history as experienced by the Sors family. Though the film is narrated by Ivan, the third and final Sors man we meet, it is Valerie who is the only constant, and whose character is strongest. Raised by her aunt and uncle, the parents of Ignatz and his brother Gustav, she causes much family controversy when she seduces Ignatz, becomes pregnant, and entices him to marry her. Nonetheless, she remains the backbone of the family while the men get carried away with various personal and political ambitions--she is also the only woman in the family to survive the Holocaust. My advice to to watch Valerie closely, because her saga, though not a focus of the film, is every bit as compelling and perhaps more indicative of the suffering endured by real people.

The acting in this film is acceptable. Fiennes is merely good; the one truly spectacular performance was certainly Rosemary Harris' portrayal of the aging Valerie.

This isn't a bad film. It's very audience-friendly in spite of its great length--the storyline is never difficult to follow. But it's nothing life-altering or profound. Rent, don't buy.

Rating:
Summary: Epic multi-generational view of the last century in Hungary
Review: By taking a slice of Hungarian history spanning roughly the last century, this movie chooses a historical setting which provides a concentrated message of human frailty and idealism amidst social and political change. In this microcosmic world of a century of Hungarian history, we encounter some broader familiar themes of social mobility (both economically and politically) of a religious minority in a country with its own conflicted sense of national identity through different political regimes. Ralph Fiennes (of the more familiar movie "The English Patient") superbly plays multiple roles, as a male member of three successive generations of a Hungarian Jewish family, spanning the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the two World Wards to (briefly) modern post-communist Hungary. Fiennes' presence throughout this movie in multiple roles lends a curious continuity to several recurrent themes in this tale of political and family loyalty and betrayal. Haunted by the image of his impotence at watching his father being tortured and killed in front of several hundred Jewish prisoners, the leading male character struggles to expiate his guilt and avenge the shadowy forces of anti-Semitism. But his own ideals are dashed as his police interrogator role in communist Hungary leads him to confront the hypocrisy of yet another regime in which ideological purity and political expediency are hard to distinguish. With his own fanatical commitment to pursue the fascist elements in post World War Two communist Hungary, the leading character shares much in common with his grandfather's loyalty, as a high level magistrate, to the monarchy of a crumbling empire of which Hungary was a part, and with his father's blind faith in the willingness of the newly recreated Hungary to assimilate a Jew who converts to Catholicism as he also becomes a national Olympics fencing hero. In the end, all three characters of three generations of the same family become victims of different political regimes, all of which learn to use their willing victims as pawns who become betrayed with their blind loyalty. Oddly, it is the several women characters who invariably become amorously entangled with different male characters, who seem most skeptical of the promises of different regimes. Unfortunately, it is not often we find this kind of epic movie which personalizes large swathes of history through the saga of several generations of a single family - and it is often compared to Dr. Zhivago. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Brilliant
Review: Few films made recently attempt to engage the viewer in epic themes, and Sunshine does so brilliantly. This is a history lesson, a study in modern politics and an examination of ethnic sociology fitted very compactly into a "brief" framework of three hours. The director has carefully composed a stunning recreation of Hungary's first 50 years in the 20th century. Using three generations of a single family, the story that unfolds is one of dignity and triumph of the human spirit in the best and worst of times. I am not Jewish, but I found this approach to the Jewish crisis in eastern Europe to have universal application. The Szonnensheim family's internal turmoil and external trials depict, in part or in whole, the problems all of us must face as family members, members of a community, and as citizens responsible for the government we elect. This is a well constructed film, in terms of scope, pace and artistic element. The photography and sets create perfectly a sense of time, place and mood. Performances by Fiennes, Ehle and Harris are flawless. I had not seen Jennifer Ehle before, and found her to be an incredible talent of intelligence and sensuality. Because of their fine work, Sunshine comes across as an intimate and personal tale, despite the epic structure. This movie is rightfully compared with David Lean's best work.

Rating:
Summary: Fiennes shines, but Harris steals the show
Review: "Sunshine" is a three-hour lesson in modern Hungarian history, portraying the country as it goes from Empire to Fascist to Communist rule, all seen from the perspective of the Sonnenschein family ("sunshine" in Hungarian). Granted, some purists may take issue with the historical accuracy, but I am not a purist when it comes to this, so I can comment upon the film's other merits.

Sprawling over three hours, this film is not for the short of attention. But for those more accustomed to films of this genre and length, "Sunshine" offers many golden moments that may pass you by if you aren't prepared to notice.

Ralph Fiennes takes on not two but three roles, playing grandfather, father, and son. Other actors are more noted for their ability to transform themselves physically for a role, but Fiennes' talent in this category should not be underrated. Although his red-haired beauty endures, he manifests the melancholy of Ignatz Sors (the grandfather), the dashing athleticism of fencer Adam Sors (the father), and the awkwardness and conflict of Ivan Sors (the son) masterfully, making each character a physically different person.

However, Fiennes' ability to morph is overshadowed by the subtle, emotionally resonant performance by the fine Rosemary Harris as the elder Valerie (Sors) Sonnenschein. In the midst of political turbulence, religious persecution, and the rise and fall of empires and regimes (as well as Fiennes' role-switching), Valerie remains the only constant, due to her unflinching sense of self. In a country that struggles to find its identity, Valerie always knows who she is, and for this reason, she endures.

Jennifer Ehle (Harris's own daughter) is competent as the younger Valerie. She gets all of the highly emotional outbursts and confrontations with other characters, and gives Valerie an endearing vitality. But it is Harris's quiet dignity and sly confidence that makes her the more memorable. Just as Valerie is the pillar of the Sonnenschein family, Harris is the central pillar of the film itself.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of WWII storytelling
Review: If you were appalled by films such as Schindler's List, wait till you see this one. Many people consider WWII storytelling an exhausted topic, which is simply not true, as witnessed by the popularity of The Pianist and Adrien Brody's consequent though well deserved stardom.
"Sunshine" has all the elements of a great movie. A top of the line cast, to start with Ralph Fiennes whose performance is superb (in my opinion Fiennes' greatest masterpiece). You might be put off by the length of this movie, though the story carries itself very well. Simply told, it will move you.

Rating:
Summary: RAIN ON SUNSHINE.
Review: I had very high expectations for the movie, unfortunately it did not live up to any of them. Though the movie is about a Jewish family during and after the World War II, it is hardly uplifting. The characters were very unsympathetic. I can only give it 2 stars due to the quality of the acting. Overall, I feel that I wasted 3 hours of my life that I will never get back.

Rating:
Summary: A Hungary Version of Dr. Zhivago
Review: A very good movie with good script and performance. Ralph Fiennes played well with three generations' grandfather/father/son roles. But this actor still gives me an impression of the nervousness of a psychopath. The story itself is a deep version of the surpressed race on earth. Some of the sentences and dialogues are very profoundly written and need to be written down as anybody's family motto or morality standard. Watching this movie, you'd not to be very deeply moved or touched but still you'd think it's a very good movie, seriously performed, shot, directed. It's all too human that generation after generation, nation after nation would committ the same mistakes and terrors to the people, divided and never united. We the common people are the pawn of the politicians and policy makers. Like what the Sunshine guy said to his sister-in-law and mistress, "People don't need freedom, they only need security." Yes, Security from everything and everybody is the ultimate freedom of all and for all. Give me freedom and still we'll go to hell, freedom won't give you jobs, bread, love or anything else, while the sense of security would allow you to enjoy everything at hand and around.