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Movies / On DVD / Sunshine
Sunshine

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Sunshine (1999)

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Reviews Counted:51

Fresh:37

Rotten:14

Average Rating:7.1/10

Runtime: 3 hrs

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Director István Szabó's SUNSHINE is an epic tale that follows the Polish family the Sonnenscheins through five generations spanning more than 100 years, from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s,... Director István Szabó's SUNSHINE is an epic tale that follows the Polish family the Sonnenscheins through five generations spanning more than 100 years, from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, exploring the history, politics, world wars, social diaspora, and economic shifts that influence and change them during that period. Beginning with Emmanuel Sonnenschein, who builds a business around the family product (a Taste of Sunshine tonic), the film follows the lineage from his son Ignaz (Ralph Fiennes), a political conservative loyal to the Hungarian Republic, to Ignaz's son Adam (also played by Fiennes), an olympic fencer who is victimized by the Nazi genocide, to Adam's son Ivan (Fiennes again), a member of the Hungarian communist regime who manages to divorce himself from it and be free. Through these transitions, it is Valerie (played by both Jennifer Ehle and her real-life mother, Rosemary Harris), the cousin and wife of Ignaz, who becomes mother to Adam and grandmother to Ivan, supplying moral support, a family backbone, and photographs: a signature snapshot technique is used in the film to round out each major chapter or event. A beautiful film with easy transitions, dramatic scenery and costumes, and admirable performances, SUNSHINE's themes of family, history, and Hungarian pride resonate far beyond the big screen. [More]

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rosemary Harris, Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Ehle

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rosemary Harris, Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Ehle, William Hurt, Molly Parker, Deborah Kara Unger, David De Keyser, James Frain, Miriam Margolyes, John Neville, Mark Strong

Director: István Szabó

Director: István Szabó
Screenwriter: Israel Horovitz, István Szabó
Producer: Andras Hamori, Robert Lantos
Composer: Maurice Jarre

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 8, 2001

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Reviews for Sunshine

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Much like her character holds together her family, Harris's warm and robust performance holds together Sunshine.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/07/10
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

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.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
08/16/07
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

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Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
08/14/07
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

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Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
08/11/07
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

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Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
08/10/07
Christian Science Monitor
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Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
08/04/07
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
08/03/07
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather
N/R

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Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/28/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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N/R

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Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
07/28/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
N/R

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Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
07/28/07
Arizona Republic
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Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
07/28/07
Dallas Morning News
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Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
07/28/07
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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N/R

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Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
07/28/07
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
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Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
07/28/07
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

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Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/28/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

... a visionary odyssey with a grace and awe and visual scope that calls to mind Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey for a new millennium...

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/26/07
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
N/R

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Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
07/26/07
Cole Haddon
Cole Haddon
Orlando Weekly

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Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
07/25/07
Steven Snyder
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies

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Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/21/07
Boston Globe
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Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
07/21/07
New York Daily News
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