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Sunshine

  • 1999
  • R
  • 3h 1m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
15K
YOUR RATING
Sunshine (1999)
It follows three generations of a Jewish family during the changes in Hungary from the beginning of the 20th century to the period after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
Play trailer2:28
1 Video
56 Photos
DramaHistoryRomance

The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.

  • Director
    • István Szabó
  • Writers
    • István Szabó
    • Israel Horovitz
  • Stars
    • Ralph Fiennes
    • Rosemary Harris
    • Rachel Weisz
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    15K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • István Szabó
    • Writers
      • István Szabó
      • Israel Horovitz
    • Stars
      • Ralph Fiennes
      • Rosemary Harris
      • Rachel Weisz
    • 128User reviews
    • 67Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 12 wins & 17 nominations

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:28
    Watch Trailer

    Photos56

    Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Jennifer Ehle in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Jennifer Ehle in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Deborah Kara Unger in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Jennifer Ehle in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Deborah Kara Unger in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes, Jennifer Ehle, and James Frain in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes, Jennifer Ehle, Rachel Weisz, and Molly Parker in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in Sunshine (1999)
    Ralph Fiennes and Deborah Kara Unger in Sunshine (1999)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ralph Fiennes
    Ralph Fiennes
    • Ignatz Sonnenschein…
    Rosemary Harris
    Rosemary Harris
    • Valerie Sors
    Rachel Weisz
    Rachel Weisz
    • Greta
    Jennifer Ehle
    Jennifer Ehle
    • Valerie Sonnenschein
    Deborah Kara Unger
    Deborah Kara Unger
    • Maj. Carole Kovács
    Molly Parker
    Molly Parker
    • Hannah Wippler
    James Frain
    James Frain
    • Gustave Sonnenschein
    David de Keyser
    David de Keyser
    • Emmanuel Sonnenschein
    John Neville
    John Neville
    • Gustave Sors
    Miriam Margolyes
    Miriam Margolyes
    • Rose Sonnenschein
    Rüdiger Vogler
    Rüdiger Vogler
    • Gen. Jakofalvy
    Mark Strong
    Mark Strong
    • István Sors
    Bill Paterson
    Bill Paterson
    • Minister of Justice
    Trevor Peacock
    Trevor Peacock
    • Comrade Gen. Kope
    Hanns Zischler
    Hanns Zischler
    • Baron Margitta
    Mari Törőcsik
    Mari Törőcsik
    • Older Kato
    Katja Studt
    Katja Studt
    • Kato
    Péter Andorai
    • Anselmi
    • Director
      • István Szabó
    • Writers
      • István Szabó
      • Israel Horovitz
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Jennifer Ehle, who plays Young Valerie, is the daughter of Rosemary Harris, who plays Older Valerie.
    • Goofs
      When Ivan and Carole have a brief talk on the banks of the Danube near the bridge, we see evening traffic on the quay at the opposite side of the river, with a considerable amount of cars passing by, headlights on. There would not have been this amount of traffic in Budapest in the 1950s.
    • Quotes

      Adam Sors: Never give up your religion. Not for God. God is present in all religions. But if your life becomes a struggle for acceptance, you'll always be unhappy. Religion may not be perfect, but it is a well-built boat that can stay balanced and carry you to the other shore. Our life is nothing but a boat adrift on water balanced by permanent uncertainty. About the people whom you will judge, know this; all they do is struggle to find a kind of security. They're just people, like us. Therefore you mustn't judge them on the basis of appearance or hearsay. Trust no one. Examine all things yourself. Do not join with power. Despise all rank. Do not be ostentatious with what is yours. Owning possessions and property ultimately comes to nothing. Possessions and property can be consumed by fire, swept away by flood, taken away by politics. Do not undertake what you do not know. This causes anxiety which makes you ill. Exercise discipline.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Gone in Sixty Seconds/Groove/Sunshine/Love's Labour's Lost/Grass (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Fantasia for Piano 4 Hands in F minor
      (D 940)

      Music by Franz Schubert

      Performed by Márton Terts, Zsolt Czetner

    User reviews128

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A great achievement, with forgiveable flaws
    The great elements of Sunshine for me far outweighed the negative ones. I admit a few things: I would like to have seen the ending be Sors III's speech at Knorr's funeral (and the f*** you against the officer), then the scene of him walking down the alley with that final monologue. That would have left a far more memorabel mark, but the way the ending was done was too far extended. The first forty minutes also seem such weak costume drama compared to the intensity of the next two hours that they should have been vigorously cut. Third, the sex scenes- why so repetitive and abrupt? I love seeing Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) and Deborah Kara Unger (Crash) in ecstasy as much as anyone, but it got to be almost boring. Fourth- the music and cinematography seemed rather dull.

    However, once we get past these flaws, Sunshine is a great, powerful work about dignity and how we value ourselves within a society that rejects us. I am an American Irish Catholic, so I have not felt the oppression of minorities, thankfully, nor have the last few generations of my family.

    I thank Mr. Fiennes and Szabo for showing how each one of the Sonnenschein men struggle for dignity and purpose within the system, yet they fail each time to give joy primacy in their lives. Every time, the system they so revere would put people second and ideology first (read review of Michael Collins.) Valery knew the value of seeking joy, and thankfully she passes that on to her grandson, who survived the utter misery of the Stalinist regime.

    This film shows such brutality at one moment that I cracked open in the theater (those who have seen the film know the moment I refer to.) However, I did not find it excessive- rather it was absolutely essential to showing the depths of the personal horror that the Sors went through in the Holocaust. As Knorr says, "Surviving Aushwitz does not make you a bigger or a greater man. It only gets burned into your brain." The film does not expertly reveal relationships between men and women, besides Valery and Ignatz's tryst, but I felt it detailed the faults and promises of each political regime very well, based on what I've read.

    Fiennes should get another Oscar nod for this, as should Rosemary Harris for best supporting actress. What infuriates me is that Sunshine will never get to the major theatres, the way we're now measuring films like they were race horses instead of creative efforts. I don't know why it is we now feel only the most simple, light, corny and action-crammed films can go into the multiplexes (albeit many of those films good ones.) This is great, provocative entertainment worth spreading around. Like American History X, Sunshine certainly has its faults, but its messages about tolerance, humanity, and redemption are glorious.
    helpful•16
    7
    • DannyBoy-17
    • Aug 1, 2000

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 14, 2000 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Germany
      • Austria
      • Canada
      • Hungary
      • France
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Hebrew
      • Latin
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • The Taste of Sunshine
    • Filming locations
      • Budapest, Hungary
    • Production companies
      • Alliance Atlantis Communications
      • Bavaria Film and Television Fund
      • Channel Four Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $5,096,267
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $42,700
      • Dec 19, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,918,035
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 1 minute
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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