Synopsis
The story of a Jewish family living in Hungary—through three generations—rising from humble beginnings to positions of wealth and power in the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Empire. The patriarch becomes a prominent judge but is torn when his government sanctions anti-Jewish persecutions. His son converts to Christianity to advance his career as a champion fencer and Olympic hero, but is caught up in the Holocaust. Finally, the grandson, after surviving war, revolution, loss and betrayal, realizes that his ultimate allegiance must be to himself and his heritage.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Ralph FiennesIgnatz/Adam/Ivan Sors
- Rosemary HarrisValerie Sors
- Rachel WeiszGreta
- Jennifer EhleValerie Sonnenschein
- Deborah Kara UngerCarole Kovacs
- William HurtAndor Knorr
- Molly ParkerHannah Wippler
- James FrainGustave Sonnenschein
- David de KeyserEmmanuel Sonnenschein
- John NevilleGustave Sors
Recommandations
- 100
San Francisco Chronicle
From the outside, Sunshine sounds like the most boring film on Earth. In fact, it's glorious. - 91
Portland Oregonian
So filled with riches that it seems a bit unfair to single out Szabo and Fiennes, no matter how outstanding their work. - 90
Washington Post
It's a brilliant, profound movie, but it's almost no fun at all. - 75
Miami Herald
For filmgoers not interested in history, Sunshine might be a three-hour investment they may not want to undertake. - 75
USA Today
This movie doesn't make you think you are watching art. It's closer to a high-end TV movie with lots of familiar faces. - 70
Time
Sunshine is a trifle schematic. But it also makes you feel, quite poignantly, the crushing tides of history: heedless, inhuman--and tragic. - 70
Chicago Reader
Many of the plot points seem belabored because they're introduced in the voice-over, then ploddingly dramatized, then analyzed by the family over meals. - 60
Variety
Well-intentioned but never entirely engaging chronicle.
