Rating: 
Summary: Quite Possibly the Greatest Movie Ever Made...
Review: Sunshine, starring Ralph Finnes, is an epic drama, spanning from the mid-1800's to after post-World War 2. The movie is about four generations of a Jewish family, following them as they go through their lifes and hardships. Wonderful acting, excellent script, beautiful music... this movie has everything a great movie needs. Ralph Fiennes plays quite a few parts in this outstanding film. Of the most powerfull scenes in the movie is the scene in a Nazi Prison Camp. This is truly a movie of epic proportions, too. It is 381 minutes. The DVD has no special features, though. But the picture and sound quality are great. I reccomend this movie to all, because it is a beautiful movie worth watching at least once.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling, sweeping story
Review: Ralph Fiennes delivers in each of his three roles as a different man in three generations of a Hungarian family. Each man is torn between his family, his politics, and his own desire. The movie is a solid three hours long and feels very much like a mini-series (a good one). The acting is great, the cinematography is gorgeous, and the story is consuming.
Rating: 
Summary: An oversized educational reel with dramatic insertions.
Review: Most of Istvan Sabo films deal with the extraordinary people - Mephisto, Colonel Redl, Hanussen. They look a bit simplistic now but remain intense and entertaining. His new offering, Sunshine could not be called entertaining, it's rarely intense and the level of idiosyncrasy is too high for any European. Maybe it helps someone outside of our historical tradition to understand the basic outline of the Hungary's 20th century, but we, the Europeans, were told so many times before that communism is bad, fascism is bad, secret police are bad, betrayal is bad, we hardly heed this reminder. The film is very similar in attitude to Nikita Mikhalkov's Oscar winner Burnt By The Sun - the export variant of a gloomy period in Russian history. Sunshine is shot like an oversized educational reel in The People's History style, with lyrical insertions and human dramas to wash down the message more easily. The tone is very didactic and it's a bit annoying to hear the things we already know being told in such revelatory and self-important manner. The actors are adequate but I was not struck by anyone's artistic breakthrough. Good, but not particularly memorable. Just like the film itself. See it or skip it - it does not make a lot of difference.
Rating:
Summary: A devastating slice of history.
Review: I gave this film 5 stars to indicate how much it moved me. All the performances were over the top. As I just viewed it yesterday, there are scenes that haunt me. What haunts me most, however, is the truth it conveys about the human condition. Two things stand out for me. One is the line that William Hurt's character makes: "People will do anything (or nothing...the reviewer is saying this) to survive." The other thing is the realization that episodes like the holocaust go on all the time. Thank God they are typically not as brutal or as immense in scale. This film should be seen by anyone who cares about history. It can be somewhat confusing for viewers who don't know European history. It is important to realize that in 1956, just 11 years after WWII, the USSR invaded Hungary. Europeans turned their backs on Hungary because they didn't want to see another war.
Rating:
Summary: The Use of Freedom
Review: In the film, Burnt By the Sun, a Russian version of the same theme worked out in Sunshine, a character says that the changes in culture wrought by Communism are like seeing "trains with geese," that is, the world has lost its savor because it has lost its soul. Burnt By the Sun is a tragedy whereas Sunshine is a comedy in the sense that after much struggle, selling out, and loss of soul, the main character is able to find his way back to truth. The film examines the relationship between the political regime and its effect on the souls of its constituents. Only when democratic freedom is achieved in Hungary is the main character able to transcend his need to fit in. The voice over at the end of the film states that the female character who also survives through most of the story's action, Ivan's grndmother Valerie Sors, understood all along what it was to be free because she was an artist. It is true that she was an artist, a photographer, but she also was disturbingly uconcerned about moral responsibility; although she survived, she had no wisdom to impart to her grandson when he needed it. As one reviewer said, this film is the story of us. I've seen it four times; although I have no connection to any of its details (I was born and raised in Cox's Creek, KY), the film speaks to me and the condition of America just as strongly as it must to the Hungarians for whom it was made. The relationship between the political regime, freedom, and the structure of the soul is one that we, as Americans, rarely think about, but the relationship becomes an issue every time we are forced to look carefully at ourselves. We don't get it that freedom is not license and that we are becoming dictators to each other because of our own inability to seek truth. Unlike Burnt By the Sun, Sunshine shows a way out of the evils of modern political life and the hope with which the film ends haunts me and makes me cry. In a world that has been taken over by "trains with geese," there is still the magnificence of the human spirit that can seek nobility and goodness and truth despite its cost. In Sunshine Ivan is able to do that, but Valerie cannot because she has never really overcome her own selfishness. Her understanding is like those of most Americans: her freedom is hers to use as she sees fit; she is free, but she is not capable of truth. Given the number of high shcool shootings that have taken place this week in America, the use of freedom that the film examines is something we need to contemplate.
Rating:
Summary: Sunshine is a celebration of Ralph Fiennes' acting abilities
Review: Sunshine is a beautiful film about a changing Jewish family. The film spans over three generations as the family undergoes many hardships. There does remain one constant though, Ralph Fiennes portrays a character in each generation. You see some of the same mistakes and concequences that his fathers before him repeated. Yet each of the three different roles that Ralph portrays is quite difinely unique. Sunshine truely is a celebration of Ralph Fienes' acting abilities.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful performances
Review: I enjoyed this film. I do think it may have took on too much of a story to fit into 3 hours. I enjoyed the first generation storyline the best. I thought the characters were much more drawn out in their storyline. Ralph Fiennes gives a good performance but I really think Jennifer Ehle as Valerie was the heart of this film. Her performance was absolutely unforgettable. I enjoyed Rosemary Harris as the older Valerie but I found myself missing Ms Ehle's presence when Ms Harris took over the role. (If you're not familiar with Ms Ehle's work check out her Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice from 1995 which I did after I was so impressed by her work in Sunhine). Sunshine is definatly worth seeing. The subject matter is of course going to make the film depressing at points but the ending is uplifting.
Rating:
Summary: UNJUSTLY OVERLOOKED
Review: It is too bad that so few people saw this film -- one of the best films of 2000. It focuses upon several generations of an ambitious Jewish family in Austria-Hungary. Its message is sad: in 20th century Eastern Europe, the Jews had no hope integrating -- not with the Emperor, not with the Nazis, and not with the Communists. This Jewish family certainly tried. They fought in World War I, the family gave up its Jewish name, one of them married a Catholic and converted to Catholicism, etc. But nothing was ever enough, and anti-Semitism led to tragedy after tragedy. The film ends while the Communists control Hungary. The youngest member of the family naively had worked for the Communists but became disillusioned. He reclaims the family's Jewish name and walks away from politics and the public realm altogether. We know that he sees the socio-political situation much more clearly than did his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He knows that he has a choice: endorse official anti-Semitism (and even then risk being accused of conspiring with Zionists) or be a Jew and take the diminished stature in Hungarian society that comes with it. There is no middle way -- the family's multigenerational drive to accomodate Judaism with financial and political success has failed. This film has a sweep like few others today. It spans generations, tackles big historical events, and wrestles with serious themes. It is well worth seeing if you like serious cinema. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Zsabo, masterful as always
Review: Istvan Zsabo has been making astounding cinema for decades. Especially notable are his works with the inimitable actor, Klaus Maria-Brandaur who remains criminally underemployed. Especially astounding is their collaboration on the Academy Award winning MEPHISTO. Sunshine is no exception. An epic, compelling and moving story (something that Hollywood is now vitually incapable or too incompetent to know how to produce anymore) that imprints an indelible impression on one's heart, mind and soul. Every aspect of the production is of the highest rank. Especially the astounding lovely Ms. Ehle who also made such a strong impression in WILDE with Stephen Fry.
Rating:
Summary: Theme of Sunshine
Review: Sunshine is not a simple movie, but is rewarding for an intelligent viewing. Essentially Sunshine is framed by a Jewish family changing their last name. The family tries, through several generations of living and suffering, to escape from their Jewish heritage. In the last generation the last member of the family changes his name back to the original. It's an artistic movie dealing with large themes of religion, cultural heritage, and love. I really enjoyed watching this movie and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in seeing a great movie that isn't largely known. It seems like all the best ones fall into that category.
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