The Sun took four years to reach American theaters, but the long delay hasn’t diminished the force of Sokurov’s experimentation.
Comment
11/19/09
The Sun (2005)
90
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:18
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.9/10
Theatrical Release:Nov 18, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: August 15, 1945: a shocked Japan hears the voice of divine leader Emperor Hirohito for the first time, as he implores his people to cease all military activity, initiating a formal end to WWII and... [More]
Reviews for The Sun
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
First shown at the Berlin Film Festival four years ago, The Sun is finally receiving its welcome American theatrical release, which means that one of the best movies of 2005 is now also one of the best of 2009.
11/19/09
Top CriticBoasts stylish cinematography and a well-nuanced, gentle performance by Issey Ogata, but it often drags and fails to be truly captivating and engrossing as a character study.
11/18/09
Though he successfully humanizes Hirohito, who is shown happily shedding his divinity, Sokurov doesn't entirely exonerate him.
11/17/09
Top CriticA grippingly disturbing film that presents a new perspective on the Emperor than the usual one ladled out in most American school history courses.
07/05/08
Click to read the article
08/18/07
Finely observed, exquisitely shot and immaculately performed, The Sun portrays a tormented leader redeemed by his own adaptability.
06/15/07
Sokurov sees his titans of history as men playing gods, and Hirohito’s climactic renunciation of his divinity is the deeply affecting end point.
06/24/06
The film is slow, claustrophobic, and dark in many senses, but is highly provocative. THE SUN is reminiscent of THE LAST EMPEROR, and is actually more intelligent.
06/08/06
Since this is a man more or less stripped of emotion, it's like watching a newborn fawn, violently ripped from its safety and learning its way in the world.
05/04/06
It's an outrageously long-winded drama that's awfully directed with the skill of a high school play.
03/24/06
By the end, just like the emperor is metaphorically, we're in a literal state of twilight, unable to see what lies ahead.
03/07/06
As usual, Sokurov's unhurried pacing will test the patience of more fidgety viewers, although the script is more accessible than some of his recent efforts.
02/10/06
Top CriticWhile The Sun staunchly refuses to pass judgement on a figure considered by many to be a war criminal, it does essay a vivid portrait of the utter experiential vacuum that attends the stupefyingly powerful: the Emperor has no clue.
02/10/06
Top CriticThe Sun may be a kind of cinematic masterpiece, it's just not a morally defensible one.
02/10/06
Top CriticThe Sun accomplishes the greatest feat that any historical film can: to leave the viewer more confused and uncertain about her knowledge than she was before the film began.
11/01/05
Sokurov and screenwriter Yuri Arabov aren't trying to recreate history as much as humanize Hirohito through surreal demystification... one of the best films of the year.
10/12/05
a film that tricks you under its mindfully slow pace by finding the moments in a character, tyrant or not, where you see where they are and who they are
10/10/05
Sokurov reveals a man trying desperately, though honorably, to avoid an inevitable turn of the tide.
10/06/05
The measured direction can feel sluggish as the camera refuses to cut away from lengthy scenes of people getting dressed or filing out of rooms, but Ogata's multi-layered performance more than compensates.
09/10/05
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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November 19, 2009:
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