Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Steineded How sad is this?

Executscan Expected more

dromasca Istvan Szabo is probably the finest Hungarian film director ever. I have seen and greatly enjoyed 'Hanussen' and 'Mephisto' which both feature his preferred actor, the fantastic Klaus Maria Brandauer . The latest is nothing less than a masterpiece in my opinion, a strong parable about the relation between dictatorship and art, between power and the artist, and a meditation about the human character and the tearing dilemma of the artist who has to chose between being silent and being silenced. What few people knew at the time the film was released was that in 'Mephisto' Szabo had spoken about his own life and choices.I somehow failed to see until now 'Sunshine' which is a not less ambitious endeavor describing in a big epic film the story of one Jewish Hungarian family which is symbolic for much of the history of the Hungarian Jews in the 20th century.They do not do such films any longer, some may say. 'Sunshine' is a saga spread over three generations of the Sonnenshein / Sors family - a family of Jewish origin whose story is followed since the last two decades of the Austro-Hungarian empire through the First World War, the Communist revolution of 1919, the inter-wars period, the horrors of the Second World War and of the Holocaust, the Communist terror that followed. The tradition of such stories is actually not rooted in Hollywood but rather in the solid novel sagas of writers like Thomas Mann or John Galsworthy. The main theme is the fate of the Jewish family trying to find its identity first in the relatively liberal Austro-Hungarian empire, the tentative to melt its identity by 'assimilation' and conversion, followed by the cruel return to reality during the Holocaust, and the temporary illusion of salvation by adopting the principles of the internationalist Communism.The 16 years that passed since the film was released make the demonstration of the futility of the identity hiding games played by Jews in Europe in general and Hungary in particular look somehow didactic on screen (but not in reality, as recent events show). Istvan Szabo had the bright idea of distributing Ralph Fiennes in the triple role of the three men in the three generations of the Sonnenschein / Sors family. Fiennes is a fine actor and this was one of his best roles, but the real strong and persistent character is the one of Valerie - wife, mother, and grandmother and more than all the survivor and the strong character that represents the moral and tradition compass of the whole family during the succeeding storms of the century. Two actresses - Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris play this role at different ages. They are both wonderful. The strength of the film comes however from the accumulation of facts and the building of the emotion that leads to the final rediscovery of the true identity of the character. As somebody once said: 'Nobody can run away from the star under which they were born'.

andrewwoolley This is an 'epic' tale of three generations of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.It has a slight 'slap in the face' quality. Nothing is left to the imagination, as at the beginning when, just in case you don't know what an exploding brewery looks like, you get to see one.It's all very titillating; from grand sword fighting duels, sadism in concentration camps, OTT domestic arguments, to looking up Jennifer Ehle's skirt.It was the director's brainchild. Watch the actors interviewed in the 'making of' say how brilliant he is in the most deadpan way, and what a pleasure it was for them to be involved in the execution of his master plan.

Christopher Adam "Sunshine" traces the story of a Hungarian-Jewish family over the course of several generations and provides viewers with a cursory glimpse into the history of Hungary in the twentieth-century. The film does a nice job examining issues of identity, religion, ethnicity and assimilation and a minority group's quest for acceptance by the majority population. All of these are important and complex issues, but unfortunately the film potentially undermines its credibility by indulging in a somewhat kitsch, romantic storyline. "Sunshine" is ultimately a work of fiction, but since it deals with major, dramatic moments in Europe's recent past--such as the upheaval following World War I, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, the Communist take-over and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution--less of a focus on the romantic saga and more attention to the historical events themselves (as experienced by one family) would do justice to the dramatic history of Hungary in the twentieth century.On a positive note, the directors of this film should be applauded for providing English audiences with a synopsis of Central Europe's recent past-- a region which otherwise often features as a mere footnote in North American history textbooks.

Galina 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