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The Dark Side of the Sun More at IMDbPro »

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37 reviews in total

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14 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
A movie where 80% of the cast has names that end in 'VIC'!, 3 May 2004

Author: Pepper Anne from Orlando, Florida

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Filmed in and around Yugoslavia, Dark Side of the Sun is quite a nice little film. Brad Pitt plays Rick, a young man born with a serious skin condition which forces him to shield himself from any sort of lighting. He lives in the dark and travels in the daytime in a 'Blackout New' kind of leather face mask. At home, he can only remove the protection so long as he remains in absolute darkness. Rick is tired of this, and humors his father who travels with him around the world in search of medical specialists that may be able to provide his son a cure. But Rick soon decides that enough is enough, and decides that he doesn't care about the consequences, if in fact the potential extent of damage done by his exposure to the sun is even a reality, given how rare his disease is. He gets rid of the mask and get's to experience so many things in a different way, even interacting with people he may not have before. Rick experiences a rejuvination.

In doing so, he meets a young American actress who was staying with a group that was performing in the town square festivities. And he falls in love with her. But she adores Rick as a friend, while she is keen on the 'dark masked rider' she happened to meet at a party one evening. And that is who she is in love with, not knowing that Rick is the same person. Rick plays something of a double life, like Cyrano de Bergnac style, but as one person. Rick doesn't tellt he girl that he and the masked rider are the same person. He just seems to enjoy her company and, I suppose, doesn't want her to feel pity for him and ruin everything if she were to know that his exposure to the sun would mean imminent death. He doesn't want to spoil how great he feels about everything.

Dark Side of the Sun turned out to be a very good movie, though it is a sad story. There is some minor flaws in the film. As one viewer previously mentioned, if they were to get rid of the leather suit to "live again", they wouldn't put it on just to play a double life to charm a girl. I would definitely agree. He didn't seem to detest the suit much so long as he could be with the girl. But I would think that his convictions for "living again" would be so strong (as they are throughout the movie) that he wouldn't even want to lie to the girl. But like I said, it was probably also a matter of his not wanting her to consistingly look upon him with guilt or pity.

Also, for a young man who spent so much time in a full leather mask, I would expect that he would not only be pale and thin, but probably have very thin hair or little hair at all.

It is very uncharacteristic of Brad Pitt films nowadays, but in this, as young Rick, he's a natural about it. Everyone else is good, too. And the setting, what little you get to see of Yugoslavia, is gorgeous. It seemed like it would have been better, however, had it been a foreign picture, and you even get this impression from the beginning with the folk music introduction and relatively old looking titles. But, it's definitely worth seeing.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
An observer of life has the chance to finally live it-love, music, violence and the serious need for sun lotion., 12 November 2005

Author: Ashley Layton from United Kingdom

"I want to live! But sometimes I wish I had never been born" are the opening lines of 'Dark Side of the Sun'...bit melodramatic. Some might feel that some excellent performances are marred by the occasional desire by some actors to add a bit of heightened drama to what is a relatively simple film. For instance Guy Boyd's performance as the father is superb though there are some moments such as towards the end where he talks to his mentally ill wife that his performance goes a bit day time TV-ish this though was probably more to do with Nikolic's (director) need to make sure the audience don't get bored with what is essentially a film about life, namely the difference between observing it and participating in it: "I am just an observer of life" says Brad Pitt's character… yes Brad Pitt: Fight Club, Mr. and Mrs. Smith etc…only this is Brad Pit at a young age before he'd been noticed in Thelma and Louise (although 'Dark Side Of the Sun' itself wouldn't be released until six years after when all the footage had been rescued from war torn Yugoslavia, it then went straight to video so you'll probably only see it on late night TV or amongst such classics as Rambo 12 or whatever in the bargain bucket ) so expect more of a Leonardo Dicaprio in Romeo and Juliet performance than Achilles in Troy. Rick (Pitt) has been stuck in a world of darkness all his life moving across the world to find a cure for his disease the next and final hope is a Yugoslavian healer, a man who Rick's dad has complete faith in to find a cure. It ain't happening basically and Rick is getting jaded with it all. The character is very much a poet and philosopher and there are plenty of high angle shots to suggest a superior quality in this pasty faced hero. "People can hide without using a mask' there's a lot of this sort of half wise half pretentious dialogue in this film which could be easily mistaken for a student work …in fact there a lot of pants bits here but hey if you like Pitt or nice little unheard films go for it; splash out a quid/dollar for it I've slatted it a bit but its alright give it a watch.

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12 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
On the whole a surprisingly good movie, 15 August 2006

Author: Jan Lennartsen

I tend to dislike movies with melodramatic aspects, but this one actually works, though it doesn't really look to me like Brad Pitt in it has a condition that keeps him out of the sun, he was as toned and lightly-tan in this movie as in any I ever saw him in (apparently he had nothing to do inside in the dark but crunches :)). The locales are beautiful, the light is that Adriatic sunlight that is so marvelous, that the movie is great to see just from a cinematographic aspect. And Mr. Pitt actually did some much more than just getting by/decent acting in this one, one of the hardest things to do in the profession is to be the object of a tearjerker, and he successfully pulls it off. It is a shame he was just compensated some 10k-12k for this picture and in some recent ones so much for so little(but then he has had his distractions so I shouldn't carp). Excellent performances by the father and love interest characters round it out.(The faith-healer aspect was a bit jarring, as I was not aware that this had been a Yugoslavian/Serbo-Croatian tradition and it seemed a bit New-Agey to me, though I have since been shown an Ivo Andric story where it was mentioned in that region in an 1890s setting so it is presumably legitimate background). The other elements-sound, direction, etc. were up to high-quality low budget studio production in the States, and better than most of those. The dialogue flows well, and the original language is clearly English, this is _not_ a dubbed movie. I am surprised it went to video directly, I feel it could have easily gone to a successful theatrical release. Much much worse has done so, and profited greatly. It deserves a look-see.

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13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
It´s a very very sensible movie!!!, 12 June 2001

Author: Sirlene from Lavras-MG - Brazil

When I watched the movie, it remained for a long time in my head. It´s a beautiful movie, sensible, and I liked very, very much. It´s one of the best movies I already watched... The place where happens the story is wonderful, the song is wonderful and Brad is very well like "Rick"... I get sad about the final, but the choice he made was correct. All the movie was correct. Perfect.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
This film was made in 1988 (article contains spoilers), 9 January 2003

Author: Derek Hazell (dez_hazell@yahoo.com) from Oxford, England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Brad Pitt fans please note that this Yugoslavian film was first made in 1988 and edited for re-release in 1997 due to Brad Pitt's popularity.

This film, I feel would fall into that so-bad-it's-good category. The acting from Guy Boyd as the father is nothing less than terrible, and Cheryl Pollak, although an attractive presence could have done slightly better too. There are also strange surreal scenes which really do not fit it and distract from the poignancy of one boy's story, eg a scene with an old man stamping on condoms (don't ask) and a long scene of Pollak singing to Pitt's dad! Apart from these faults it is actually a very enjoyable piece of tosh.

Brad Pitt's performance can not be faulted as a young man who has been forced to live his entire life inside a leather shell with only two tiny holes for his eyes and one for his mouth. (No mention was made about how he goes to toilet, or bathes come to that!). Pitt put across well to the viewer the internal emotional torture that his character felt by not being able to go out in the world and do normal young man things, and showed that although he was wearing the suit to stop the external torture of the sun blistering his body, his inner feelings which are actually more important in a lot of ways were constantly hurting. On doing some research after the film I found that the skin disease isn't actually medically right, but it seemed real and I am sure there must be similar conditions.

Pitt's character falls in love with Pollak's character in the story, so decided to take off the suit and live a few days of happiness with her out in the sun, despite it meaning the end of his life. He then gets hurt even more when he tries to kiss her and she turns away, realizing that she only fancies him back when he is in the suit. So it is more the air of mystery and the fascination on her part which makes her like him, not him as a person. She actually asks him where his masked "friend" is.

When Pitt comes along in the mask she decides to allow him to make love to her, but of course this has to be done in the dark. She doesn't realize who he is until he leaves a locket behind for her to see. The ending is then extremely poignant but I will say no more in case you do ever get to see it.

In summary I would definitely recommend that all Pitt fans and even males who are just interested in rare movies lol give this a go!

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Great Story and Pitts most Charming Performance!, 10 October 2007

Author: ragged_claws from Canada

Now before anyone jumps all over me and declares that im outta my mind, let me just say I understand why most find this coming of age tale so atrocious. Yes, the acting is bad, the production low-budget and the writing a is no-great shakes. However, Brad Pitt displays, with oodles of charisma, boyish charm,looks and innocence that there is more to an actors appeal than ability to act. Ever seen depp in nightmare on elm street,or keannu in just about everything he's done? Adversely,some actors that are "great actors" are simply put, boring to watch, serving no more than a utility. Maybe, it's not fair but neither is life. I found this film to be incredibly moving and strongly recommend it to any who are romantics at heart.WARNING: Not for skeptics.

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10 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
An excellent start for a newcomer and an interesting storyline shot shortly before the war in Yugoslavia, 20 February 2005

Author: Torson Falcradine from United Kingdom

This well shot and well located movie is complimented by an interesting debut by Brad Pitt. Set in 1988 just before the Yugoslavian conflict the story follows the fortunes of Rick (Brad Pitt) in meeting with a young American girl whilst suffering from a potentially fatal skin disease.

Set in a small town on the Adriatic the film is beautifully shot and is worth anyones time and money who appreciate a well made film professionally acted.

Just watch for that part of the film covering the final three days - it is not predictable. On top of all this the history of the film is intriguing - shortly after the film was finished the completed work went missing only to be discovered 6 years later after the Yugoslavian conflict ended in 1996. The Director(check him out) certainly had his work cut out in obtaining distributors for what by then was rated as a poor performance from an established actor.

Especially watch for some close resemblances to Joe Black. The music was good too.

Torson Falcradine 20:ii:MMV (c)T Falcradine

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
This movie charmed me, and I am not a Pitt fan, 11 February 2006

Author: Ed_the_happy_BioCloner from SkyLab

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I do not like Brad Pitt even a little, and I do not watch love dramas. And when this came on TV in the early A.M. I almost didn't watch it, the description was so stupid and squishy. But I put it on 20 minutes late, and found it almost instantly engaging. I had no idea I was watching Brad Pitt, who is usually mis-cast in movies he doesn't belong in such as 'Cool World' and 'Se7en', and was intrigued by the chemistry between his character and the father. I really liked the scene where the father went back to the bar looking for the Americans, even though the fighting was unconvincing, and loved it when he popped the barkeep in the forehead heheh. I was so charmed by the woman that I wished I was dating her myself. Interesting and disappointing that there are no pictures of her on google. The ending was unique in that it ended abruptly with it's point having been made and went straight to credits while you were still thinking about the finality of it. An American film would have drawn the ending out laboriously with plenty of 'tragic' sounding music to try to look "deep". Like I said, this isn't my genre, and I truly dislike Brad Pitt, but if this film even moved *me*, what the hell is everyone else complaining about?!

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
A young American has a rare skin disease, and is required to wear a protective leather body suit at all times., 31 August 2007

Author: creitz from Ontario, Canada

In spite of what others have said, I enjoyed this movie. I had never heard of it before and I have just seen it on the Canadian Movie Channel. I was puzzled to see how young Brad Pitt was - even younger than in "Thelma and Louise" - until I read the explanation about it being filmed in Yugoslavia in 1988 and then being lost for 9 years until finally issued in 1997. As I am a male senior citizen, I don't get palpitations at the sight of Brad Pitt, but I do like and respect him, and have enjoyed most of his movies. Some of the acting and parts of the script leave a great deal to be desired. However, this movie has a very Film Festival European feel to it, and in my view is a bit too deep for most North American film fans (insult intended). The scene of him frolicking in the ocean with the dolphins, and his description of the most wonderful day that he had ever spent, moved me tremendously. Life is made up of choices, and the choice for the hero was one day of great happiness and joy, or a lifetime of imprisonment.

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5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Brad Pitt saves this film, 24 July 2005

Author: adinutzza2001 from Romania

I saw the review of the film last night and since it was a Brad Pitt film and the plot sounded interesting, I looked anxious for it.

I can't say I didn't enjoy the film, it was touching and Brad Pitt did a good job considering it was one of his first roles, and the girl was pretty OK. However, I think his character lacked a bit in depth and sending emotion. The meeting scene in the bar was well done and their dialogues were pleasant, if not for being too deep, then just for Brad Pitt's presence.

But I expected much more from such an interesting story line, and I think the fault for the final outcome is definitely the director's. The film lacked a lot in credibility, and what could have been a really tear jerker left me unable to cry, but with a lump in my throat and the feeling something was wrong about the movie...

The ending scene with him completely full of blisters looked very unbelievable, when just the evening before he only had a few red lines on his chest. It's true the magic 3 day period was over, but it couldn't have happened all so suddenly.

Then his skin and hair looking so perfect, considering he had spent all his life trapped in that suffocating leather costume...The fight scene, totally bad, when his father knocks three guys down with a slap...And a scene with a topless bimbo, disgusting and out of place.

But if able to ignore some cheesy scenes and concentrate on Brad Pitt's performance, the film is not bad after all. It's just that it could have been much better...

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