2013年1月8日星期二

Sunshine (1999): the gift of breathing freely


Sunshine DVD box set ollows a family of Hungarian Jews through 70 years of political history, and the various regimes that took over and ultimately abused their people. Ralph Fiennes plays three roles that of grandfather, son, and grandson as the years sweep by, managing to carry the differences between the men without a hint of strangeness. This deep and moving film has themes and sub-themes to spare, and is an epic drama worthy of the respect it has earned, with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture.
The first story takes place during the tail end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and centres on Ignatz Sonnenschein, the eldest son of a successful Jewish distiller. Though the family fortune has been made on a secret tonic recipe that has been passed down for generations, neither Ignatz nor his brother, Gustave (James Frain), have any interest in joining the family business, perfering instead to enter into the fields of law and medicine, respectively.
The second story focuses on Ignatz and Valerie's younger son, Adam, who comes of age after the collapse of the monarchy and becomes a celebrated, Olympic gold medal winning fencer. Sunshine tells a massive story (I've really only revealed the plot in broadstrokes and left out tons of plot threads, developments, and characters) and, for the most part, tells it quite well. The first two segments concerning Ignatz and Adam are engaging and often thought provoking; however the film runs out of steam in the midst of the third and final story.
To sum up, Sunshine is a thoughtful and powerful drama. It tells me that have faith, but we don’t need to be stubborn. It is a natural rule of sun rose and set, the life will continue, but one day, everyone will be gone. 

没有评论:

发表评论