I felt the need to create an IMDb account to respond to one viewer's comments regarding this amazing film. I had the pleasure of seeing "Son of the Sunshine" on Saturday, September 5th at the Montreal World Film Festival. It completely floored me.
I had heard about the film through the Montreal Gazette which totally hyped the film for me. I was not disappointed. The acting is amazing, especially the lead Ryan Ward - who also directs the film. His portrayal of a man with Tourette's Syndrome was intense and really believable.
Another thing that I really enjoyed about the film was its originality. First of all, I had never heard of a film handing this disorder in a dramatic way. My cousin suffers from a mild form of Tourette's and I was worried that I would be offended. But Ward's portrayal is not a caricature, and he never over-acts. I will not give anything away relating to the plot, but I will say that I have never seen a narrative drama pieced together so interestingly and originally. The film is like a poem.
As far as the technical concerns the other viewer mentioned, when I saw the film, everything looked great. There were some focus issues during one scene, but according to IMDb, the budget on this was 100K. And it was shot on film. That is like Linklater's "SLACKER" if you adjust for inflation – and this film had a way bigger cast and way more locations. I also thought the cinematography was great! Really gave the film a gritty feeling, while the flares of light also gave it a beauty.
I looked at the film's poster after I saw the film and it is playing in a whole bunch of good festivals including Vancouver. So I guess other people are really enjoying it too. Not having any stars in the film might stop it from being seen by a wider audience, but I hope they come out with a DVD. I think it is a fantastic piece of independent film-making. A must see - especially if you are Canadian! Not too many films like this come out of this country.
