Sunshine (1999)

Very Cool!!!

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Blistering performances.

Intentions are good and every effort is made to make this a worthy film. Unfortunately, the end result is contemptible. Three major flaws are at the root of this: failed continuity, miscasting and upset footage mixing.The film tells the short but eventful history of Hungary shown through the eyes of three generations of the family Sonnenschein/Sors. Major events are squeezed in less than minutes and important characters are studied only superficially. For instance, when father and son Sors end up in a Nazi concentration camp, the only scene that's included is when the camp leaders kill the father in a horrendous manner while helplessly watched by the son (one of the most intense scenes of the movie). Okay, that was the concentration camp, on to the next scene. No time is taken to delve into the psyche of a traumatized concentration camp survivor, no time to watch things unfold, as if in a great hurry. The same is true for most of the important events taking place in the lives of the protagonists.Adding to the confusion is the fact that the father, the son and the grandson are all played by the same actor, Ralph Fiennes. Undistinguishable, I must say. Adding a mustache doesn't help here: Fiennes remains the same aloof, uninspiring character in all three roles. I am certainly not impressed with his acting skills, although it can always be worse, as evidenced by his zero-talented brother Joseph. Still, only the best of the best actors can manage to remain credible in three different roles in one and the same movie.Another facet which irritated and simultaneously bemused me was the incorporation of present-day shots into old footage, antiquing contemporary sequences as though it would ever fit in with the shaky, unreproducible images of days gone by. And then, still imprisoned in this fake imagery, Fiennes holds a speech. How embarrassing

This movie started off great.... but left me disappointed....It paints a beautiful tapestry of a Jewish family living in the Austro - Hungarian Empire...It is in essence a quality picture... from the actors to the script to the scenery and so one... one word impeccable...but I am disappointed...The focus on the Holocaust was quite meagre...which was disappointing. The characters we grew to know and love in the movie are dismissed with short explanations... Like Greta, Rachel Weisz and her husband and so one... We don't see how the characters struggled and fought for there lives.. they should at least have put 20 minutes of that in the 3 hour movie... They focused too long on the life of Ivan Sors and you just get mad and frustrated looking at it.. He just came back from Auschwitz and hes collaborating with anti-semits how dumb can you be... they make him look quite dumb from his political position to his selection of woman.... then they end the movie making him look even stupider..he destroys everything in the house! and the famous Sonnischien book..that was past down generation to generation.. how insensitive... oki he changed his name at the end.... But this movie could have been great...but because of its faults is just alright..If you appreciate a beautifly filmed movie with quality acting and the art of story telling then see this film..other wise if your like me you'll just be left in discontent...

"Sunshine" portrays three generations of the Hungarian-Jewish Sonnenschein family. Specifically, bad things happen to them with every major event (the attempted Communist takeover by Bela Kun, the Nazi invasion, the post-WWII Soviet takeover). Ralph Fiennes plays three generations of men. After watching this movie, you'll probably be very impressed about all of Hungary's various aspects; I certainly was. Every part of the movie is well-done. Fiennes plays all three roles perfectly, and Jennifer Ehle, Rosemary Harris, Rachel Weisz, John Neville, and the other cast members do quite well with their roles. Istvan Szabo directs with the same energy that he brought to "Mephisto" and "Being Julia". Perfect.

Many comments here emphasize the historical aspect of this movie -- that it is the story of a Jewish family during a particular time in history. What makes it compelling, however, is that it is about choices and compromises one makes in life. Ignatz (the grandfather) is criticized for starting the family trend of assimilation and appeasement of the establishment. I came away with the opposite sense, that he was courageous and right in defending an empire that does turn out to have been more liberal and tolerant than anything that followed it. He was correct to be wary of the Communists' promises and to help uphold the rule of an emperor who was doing his imperfect best to keep a diverse group of nations together in harmony. Not only that, Ignatz does so with a principled attitude and unwavering ethics. Why is his stance panned? He did rise to the top of his field -- and a very powerful one at that -- with one symbolic if emotionally charged concession, his last name. Given the times, was this not a nation and governance worth keeping and worth fighting for?