Sunshine (1999)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

István Szabó

Writers (WGA):

István Szabó (story)
István Szabó (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1999 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

Tagline:

In a time of revolution, in a family torn by tradition, one man was consumed by love.

Plot:

The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Judge | Austro Hungarian | Revolution | Power

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 10 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Ralph Fiennes	...	Ignatz Sonnenschein / Adam Sors / Ivan Sors
Rosemary Harris	...	Valerie Sors
Rachel Weisz	...	Greta
Jennifer Ehle	...	Valerie Sonnenschein
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Maj. Carole Kovacs
Molly Parker	...	Hannah Wippler
James Frain	...	Gustave Sonnenschein
David de Keyser	...	Emmanuel Sonnenschein
John Neville	...	Gustave Sors
Miriam Margolyes	...	Rose Sonnenschein
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Gen. Jakofalvy
Mark Strong	...	Istvan Sors
Bill Paterson	...	Minister of Justice
Trevor Peacock	...	Comrade Gen. Kope
Hanns Zischler	...	Baron Margitta

Also Known As:

A napfény íze (Hungary)
Sunshine - Ein Hauch von Sonnenschein (Germany)
The Taste of Sunshine (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for violence, language and nudity.

Runtime:

181 min

Country:

Germany | Austria | Canada | Hungary

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Spain:13 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

The venerable courtyard and house used as the Sonnenschein family home in the film is, in actuality, the house where director István Szabó grew up.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When fencing for the gold medal, Adam Sors' opponent has his foot way across the line at the start. This would never be allowed at the Olympics.

Quotes:

Ivan Sors: For the first time in my life, I walked down the street without feeling like I was in hiding. My great grandfather Emmanuel must have been the last Sonnenschein to feel like this. I knew the only way to find meaning in my life, my only chance in life...

Movie Connections:

References Citizen Kane (1941)

Soundtrack:

Suliko

Compelling, powerful and insightful

`Sunshine' is a forceful and wonderful film that follows four generations of a Jewish Hungarian family through seventy tumultuous years of Hungarian history. The story is extremely well done with rich finely etched characters. The screenplay is better suited for a miniseries than a three hour film simply because there is so much material to cover. Three hours is both too long and too short; the story is emotionally exhausting making it too long for one sitting, yet the total length is not long enough to do the subject matter justice.

Hungarian Writer/Director Istvan Szabo captures Hungary's turbulent transition from empire to fascist state to soviet satellite weaving the history of the times into the lives of this extraordinary family. He puts a human face on the historical facts giving us a disturbingly real look at what it might have been like to live through it, especially from the Jewish perspective.

Despite a whirlwind pace that requires years to be spanned in minutes, Szabo manages to conjure deep and insightful character studies of the members of each generation. His period renderings are exquisite from costumes to props to locations. This is a wonderfully textured presentation with history layered over the human stories, addressing the many indignities suffered by Jews in Hungary during the period, and the many concessions made to merely stay alive. It is a story that contains both triumph and tragedy, presented with amazing candor.

Ralph Fiennes gives three incredible performances as the grandfather, father and son of the patriarchy. Szabo has endured criticism for casting the same actor in three roles, but in this case it is an excellent choice. Fiennes is a versatile artist and personalizes three radically different characters, slipping on their personalities like a glove. He loses himself in each, rendering them all passionately but appropriately based on the motivations established in Szabo's careful character development. With Szabo's guidance, it is clear that Fiennes has an inherent understanding of the psyche of his three characters and plays them with believable nuance.

Two different actresses play Valerie and each is splendid. Jennifer Ehle plays the young Valerie and endows her with ardor and vivacity. She establishes Valerie as the strongest continuing character in the film, providing linkage between the past and the present. In another stroke of casting brilliance, Szabo selects Ehle's real life mother, Rosemary Harris as the elder Valerie. The clear resemblance linked with Harris' magnetic performance adds fullness to Valerie's later years. William Hurt and James Frain lead an ensemble of strong supporting actors that give the film great intensity and depth of talent.

This thoughtful and emotionally provocative character study is engrossing and compelling. I rated it a 9/10 only because I wish Szabo would have gone deeper and divided it into two or three installments. On a dramatic and artistic level, this film is first rate.