El amanecer de un siglo

This is a moving drama about one Jewish-Hungarian family who rises and falls throughout the 20th century. Ralph Fiennes is outstanding as the grandfather, the father and the grandson. First, the Sonnenschein (meaning 'sunshine' in German) family reaches the top of society and then the second generation decides to change their surname into 'Sors', in order to fit in the new society, but when the Second World War breaks out and Adam Sors (Ralph Fiennes), the son, the renowned fencer and Olympic medalist is caught in the Holocaust, he insists on defending his very own identity and human dignity and becomes a martyr...I will never forget that scene in which Adam Sors refuses to compromise and eventually is punished to be frozen to death.

After the war, Ivan Sors (also Ralph Fiennes), the grandson, returns to his family and as the ending approaches, he changes his family name back to Sonnenschein, which is a significant move, once again embracing his family's true heritage.

This is a long film, but I never found it too lengthy. I was profoundly touched by it and I was happy to spend a couple of hours seeing this superb piece of work. Serious and heavy though it is, however, this movie is true to reality and really thought provoking. If you are not generally put off by serious stuff or am interested in the Holocaust and the Jewish struggle, then this great film is for you. I also recommend 'The Pianist' and 'Schindler's List'.

We just rented the DVD of this, without any prior knowledge of the story, and took it just on the strength of the major players. It was very beautifully filmed, and the entire cast was believable. Fiennes gave a stellar performance as three members of the family. The history of the terrible times and the emotional traumas was heart breaking. We are old enough to remember much of wartimes portrayed, and can only feel great pain in seeing what is happening in this year 2002, during a time when our present administration is "saber-rattling" and trying to convince the public that war is the only answer. After viewing this we looked into Maltin's latest 2003 movie guide, and were aghast at his first sentence:"Ambitious, but trite, rambling soap opera chronicaling a Hungarian Jewish family over three generations". This is like saying "Gone with the Wind" is about a silly girl who makes a gown out of draperies!!

One of the best films I've seen in many years. Long by current standards, but my interest/involvement never lagged for a moment. It works on many levels, all of which examine and ultimately show the futility of assimilation, given how unstable and unreliable is any governmental structure with which one attempts to identify. Effort to assimilate across generations in Hungary becomes increasingly demanding as the lived world becomes ever more dehumanizing and brutal. Fiennes has never been better in cross-generational roles, and others excellent as well. But a woman is the censor and conscience across time.

This historical epic/family drama from the master of Hungarian cinema, Istvan Szabo (Mephisto, 1981; Being Julia, 2004) is a wonderful and memorable film that has been overlooked, underrated and sadly under-seen.

This is a moving and always engrossing drama about one Jewish-Hungarian family that rises and falls throughout the 20th century. Ralph Fiennes is outstanding as the grandfather, the father and the grandson. All three - complex and tragic characters, victims of their times, politics and wars. I think it was a brilliant idea to cast one actor as a face of three generations of one family. If ever anyone attempts to adapt Marquez's "One Hundreds Years of Solitude", that's how it should be done, IMO.

"Sunshine" is three hours long but never for a minute had I felt it was too long or it was losing its power. It is a serious, thought-provoking film which is also a superb work of art.

9.5/10

Now I am sorry that I missed to see this film on a big movie screen. Beautiful cinematography, great story and excellent performances. During watching the movie, being Hungarian, I kept asking myself: A complete, intriguing story - but is it as appealing to people from other countries, particularly outside Europe as it is for me to watch my country's history throughout the 19th and 20th century? I was pleasantly surprised and flattered that people from Colombia or New Zealand have found interest in the history of this small nation although, considering the length of it as well as the fact that this tale is limited to follow a story of one small country, I can understand the reviewers who found it boring. But then again the fact that the story is being taken place in Hungary is only one side of the coin and the rest of the strong messages can be applied to any people in any nations.