The Dark Side of the Sun (1988)

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Just perfect...

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This obscure film from Yugoslavia would probably be even more obscure if it didn't star the then-unknown actor Brad Pitt. And undeservedly neglected, as "Dark side of the Sun" is quite a beautiful, and utterly surreal piece of filmmaking. The young Rick suffers from a rare skin disease; if he is exposed to sunlight, or any bright light, his skin will quickly deteriorate and he will die in just a matter of days or weeks. because of this, Rick must wear a bizarre, S&M style leather body suit, and matching black leather mask, all the time! Nobody can see his face, and he rides a motorcycle, so as not to appear too strange in his leather suit. A chance encounter with a beautiful American girl, (Rick is also American, but lives in Yugoslavia) forces Rick to re-evaluate his own existence. He decides that a week living life as a normal kid is worth a lifetime of living separated from the World. This film has a lot going for it, such as the beautiful Yugoslavian scenery and glimpse into their culture. Filmed just before war broke out in this land, the film provides an opportunity to see how wonderful and peaceful Yugoslavia was before the late 1980's. The story is unabashedly romantic, and tragic, and possesses a rare innocent quality to it. The director wisely decides to score the film with beautiful classical music, which adds much intensity to the already emotional tale. Filmed mostly in a gorgeous mansion by the sea, "Dark side of the Sun" has a distinctly "foreign film" style to it, which i wasn't expecting. American films from this period usually have a very dated look to them, but this movie has aged well. I believe director Bozidar Nikolic cast a physically beautiful actor in the main role intentionally, making the fact that he must live wearing a mask that much more tragic and sad. "Dark side of the Sun" possesses a surreal quality. It plays out much like a Greek tragedy, or some bizarre fairy tale, and it's conclusion is not exactly a happy one, but considering it's a story of a young person living out their dream, you don't feel depressed at the films end. Although it is difficult to see Rick's physical beauty destroyed. Not surprisingly this movie did not score too high here; it is strange and not for all tastes. Recommended though, for fans of foreign film, or just bizarre and unique cinema.

SPOILER ALERT The thin story is a close copy of The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, all the way through. Just change bubble to leather suit, and add motorcycle.The good: Cheryl Pollak is very pretty and sparkly, as always. The Yugoslavian coastal scenery is carefully filmed and looks great. Brad takes off his shirt, if you like that sort of thing.The bad: Cheryl Pollak sings. Twice! Her idiot friends. Brad Pitt's untrained voice. The motorcycle "race" on the beach. Brad conceals his true identity from Cheryl for no real reason. The weird: When we first see Brad Pitt's face at the 35 minute mark, he is dressed like James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause: jeans, white tee shirt and red jacket. The R rating for showing one topless girl for a few seconds. The Adriatic coast is famous for its nude beaches, so what's the big deal? Brad plays with a dolphin, which would normally violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Brad's spaced out mom in a wheelchair shows up at the end for no reason. And most importantly, why does Brad kill himself right after sleeping with his true love? Most guys come back for more.Bottom line: a lightweight romance, sprinkled with eye candy and oddball choices. Gave it a 5 because I like Cheryl in almost anything.

I saw this movie 4-5 years ago because of reading its plot about a young man who has a very rare mysterious skin disease but highly dangerous to live with and must be covered from head to toe in a leather suite. The role was played by Brad Pitt , he also has in this film trouble in his family as his mother is completely bad ridden form a long time and she cant even speak properly while his father being a very caring person for both his spouse and offspring can do nothing to save his son. Because of his skin being so much fragile Brad cant even stay under the light inside of his own home , then he met an attractive , charming lady singer, he immediately falls for her and she is also impressed by man in black cover that makes him anonymous to her. What Brad Pitt can do is to just make a very tough decision , to expose himself to light completely that could kill him by the passage of time but he can also his moments of his life time finding eternal love before he has to die whether now or a few years in darkness. I was very impressed by the script of the movie but the execution and finishing disappointed me. I believe the acting , production , screenplay and direction was quite below the expectation of such stories.The performance of Yugoslav artist was sub standard , only i think Brad Pitt and his story line father Guy Boyd saved the moments of this film. Otherwise this film would had had ended up in disaster as it production was not able to meet its requirement.

Caught this movie one late night on TV. I didn't get to watch it from the beginning, but decided to check it out when I saw a person with a black leather suit who sounded a lot like Brad Pitt. I was saying to myself, 'What would Brad Pitt be doing in this low budget movie?'. To my surprise, it was Brad Pitt who played the man with a rare skin disease.Although it wasn't until a year or two ago when this movie got aired, I knew right away that 'Dard Side of the Sun' came out many years ago. Brad Pitt seemed really young, even younger than when he was in 'Across the Tracks' which came out in '91. I really liked the background scenes on this movie. And when you mix the beautiful scenery with motorcycling, to me it is really a nice treat, since I'm into motorcycling myself. The whole plot of the movie isn't all that deep. The man has a disease, the man falls in love, the man makes sacrifice so he can be with the loved one. I like movies that are simple but fun. There isn't a lot of effort, or at least doesn't look like, was put into making this film. Nonetheless, it was entertaining. If you are a fan of Brad Pitt, you should definitely check this one out.