Sunshine

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Sunshine

R

Released Sep 13, 1999

3h 0m

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

74%

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65 Reviews

80%

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5,000+ Ratings

The story of three generations of the Sonnenscheins, a Jewish-Hungarian family that began when Hungary was ruled by the Austro-Hungarian empire, changed their name to Sors in order to survive the years of Nazi occupation, and now faces the fallout of the postwar Communist legacy.

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Matt Wolf

Associated Press

There's no denying the rare ambition of a film with intelligence and empathy to burn: You go in expecting a history lesson and emerge impressed by the shifting hues of humanity.

Jan 18, 2018

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B+

Sep 7, 2011

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Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 4, 2007

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István Deák

The New York Review of Books

What does it mean to live in a country where one finds oneself both at home and still a stranger? Szabó's masterpiece brings us close to the heart of this enduring dilemma.

Aug 17, 2018

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Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

Much like her character holds together her family, Harris's warm and robust performance holds together Sunshine.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 7, 2010

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Karina Montgomery

Cinerina

Sunshine has done the impossible by reinventing the concept of "high stakes," it's a marvelous treat...gripping and beautiful, twining the music of the spheres with the reptilian brain inside us all.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 16, 2007

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Alec B

Profoundly moving because it doesn't make the central characters saints. Also I love the way time moves in this movie (slow at certain times, unbearably fast at others).

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/26/24

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jordan m

This reminded me somewhat of older movies like The Birth of a Nation and Cabiria in that they chose to have the primary characteristic of the movie be the sheer expanse of time that it covers. They could likely have made 3 less-interesting movies out of each timeframe they used but instead made one sprawling, mildly interesting saga and used Voldemort as the anchor that tied them all together. I think I would've preferred the entire thing be about the fencer as I've not seen a whole movie about that sport yet but I didn't hate the Nazi-hunter part either. They had a great list of actors in the supporting roles but with Ralph being in every scene they kind of fell by the wayside.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Certainly an epic based on runtime. It covers three generations of a Hungarian family across the twentieth century. The plot has enough going on to keep you engaged but strangely it never feels too emotively compelling. Hard to sympathise with any of these conflicted characters and never easy to relate to them. There's a strange emotional distance rendered by the directing and it takes the gloss off the film. Enjoyable enough but also forgettable.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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steve d

I thought the cast playing other roles was distracting and the film dragged.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Not bad but a bit too long (3 hours).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

not an up movie but Fiennes is great as always

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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István Szabó

Director

Ralph Fiennes

Ignatz Sonnenschein

Rosemary Harris

Valerie Sors

Rachel Weisz

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Jennifer Ehle

Valerie Sonnenschein

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Synopsis

The story of three generations of the Sonnenscheins, a Jewish-Hungarian family that began when Hungary was ruled by the Austro-Hungarian empire, changed their name to Sors in order to survive the years of Nazi occupation, and now faces the fallout of the postwar Communist legacy.

Director: István Szabó
Screenwriter: István Szabó, István Szabó, Israel Horovitz
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Alliance Atlantis Communications, Téléfilm Canada, Movie Network
Rating: R (Strong Sexuality|Nudity|Language|Violence)
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 1999, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.1M
Runtime: 3h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS

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