Sunshine

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 film gives Ralph Fiennes his best performance since Schindler's List here in a triple play as three characters in a 3 hour film. The story follows three generations of Hungarian jews, the first a traditional one, the second changing to Catholic, and the third to Communist, but all in the spirit of Hungarian ways. Exceptional film with Fiennes giving the control of the film by making it interesting for 3 hours (the second time he's done that). One of the better films (top 10-20) of the new year. A

The great elements of Sunshine for me far outweighed the negative ones. I admit a few things: I would like to have seen the ending be Sors III's speech at Knorr's funeral (and the f*** you against the officer), then the scene of him walking down the alley with that final monologue. That would have left a far more memorabel mark, but the way the ending was done was too far extended. The first forty minutes also seem such weak costume drama compared to the intensity of the next two hours that they should have been vigorously cut. Third, the sex scenes- why so repetitive and abrupt? I love seeing Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) and Deborah Kara Unger (Crash) in ecstasy as much as anyone, but it got to be almost boring. Fourth- the music and cinematography seemed rather dull.

However, once we get past these flaws, Sunshine is a great, powerful work about dignity and how we value ourselves within a society that rejects us. I am an American Irish Catholic, so I have not felt the oppression of minorities, thankfully, nor have the last few generations of my family.

I thank Mr. Fiennes and Szabo for showing how each one of the Sonnenschein men struggle for dignity and purpose within the system, yet they fail each time to give joy primacy in their lives. Every time, the system they so revere would put people second and ideology first (read review of Michael Collins.) Valery knew the value of seeking joy, and thankfully she passes that on to her grandson, who survived the utter misery of the Stalinist regime.

This film shows such brutality at one moment that I cracked open in the theater (those who have seen the film know the moment I refer to.) However, I did not find it excessive- rather it was absolutely essential to showing the depths of the personal horror that the Sors went through in the Holocaust. As Knorr says, "Surviving Aushwitz does not make you a bigger or a greater man. It only gets burned into your brain." The film does not expertly reveal relationships between men and women, besides Valery and Ignatz's tryst, but I felt it detailed the faults and promises of each political regime very well, based on what I've read.

Fiennes should get another Oscar nod for this, as should Rosemary Harris for best supporting actress. What infuriates me is that Sunshine will never get to the major theatres, the way we're now measuring films like they were race horses instead of creative efforts. I don't know why it is we now feel only the most simple, light, corny and action-crammed films can go into the multiplexes (albeit many of those films good ones.) This is great, provocative entertainment worth spreading around. Like American History X, Sunshine certainly has its faults, but its messages about tolerance, humanity, and redemption are glorious.

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!!

Poignant, compelling and thoughtful movie about the story of a Jewish family in Hungary; the story starts in the beginning of the 20 century and cames along until the final years of the fifties. Almost perfect reconstruction in images of a time full of prejudice, hate and misunderstandings which made the Europe known for some historians as the "Dark Continent". Svabo manages to give a superb and passionate direction and all the cast is terrific, especially Fiennes and Harris. A bit too overlong, maybe, but extremely rewarding. I give this a 8 (eight).