Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Vertical Ray of the Sun

Original title: Mùa hè chieu thang dung
  • 2000
  • PG-13
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
Theatrical Trailer from Sony Pictures Classics
Play trailer1:42
4 Videos
24 Photos
Drama

With the brilliant Vietnamese summer as a setting Vertical Ray of the Sun is beautiful from beginning to end. The plot centres around three sisters, two of whom are happily married (or so it... Read allWith the brilliant Vietnamese summer as a setting Vertical Ray of the Sun is beautiful from beginning to end. The plot centres around three sisters, two of whom are happily married (or so it appears). The youngest sister is single and living with her cute older brother, whom she ... Read allWith the brilliant Vietnamese summer as a setting Vertical Ray of the Sun is beautiful from beginning to end. The plot centres around three sisters, two of whom are happily married (or so it appears). The youngest sister is single and living with her cute older brother, whom she is desperately in love with. A second sister is married to a man who has another woman and... Read all

  • Director
    • Anh Hung Tran
  • Writer
    • Anh Hung Tran
  • Stars
    • Nu Yên-Khê Tran
    • Nhu Quynh Nguyen
    • Khanh Le
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    3.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Anh Hung Tran
    • Writer
      • Anh Hung Tran
    • Stars
      • Nu Yên-Khê Tran
      • Nhu Quynh Nguyen
      • Khanh Le
    • 51User reviews
    • 46Critic reviews
    • 72Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations

    Videos4

    Vertical Ray of the Sun
    Trailer 1:42
    Watch Vertical Ray of the Sun
    The Vertical Ray Of The Sun: The Three Sisters
    Clip 1:18
    Watch The Vertical Ray Of The Sun: The Three Sisters
    The Vertical Ray Of The Sun: Khan Tells Her Husband She's Pregnant
    Clip 1:46
    Watch The Vertical Ray Of The Sun: Khan Tells Her Husband She's Pregnant
    The Vertical Ray Of The Sun: Liem And Hai
    Clip 0:43
    Watch The Vertical Ray Of The Sun: Liem And Hai

    Photos24

    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nu Yên-Khê Tran
    • Lien
    • (as Tran Nu Yên-Khê)
    Nhu Quynh Nguyen
    Nhu Quynh Nguyen
    • Suong
    Khanh Le
    • Khanh
    • (as Le Khanh)
    Quang Hai Ngo
    • Hai
    Chu Hung
    • Quoc
    Manh Cuong Tran
    • Kien
    Tuân Anh Lê
    • Tuan
    Ngoc Dung Le
    • Huong
    Doan Viet Ha
    • Ngan
    Long Le Vu
    • Hoa
    Lam Tung Hoang
    • Toan
    Huy Cong Nguyen
    • The Fisherman
    Nu Lang Khe Tran
    • Little Mouse
    Hung Be
    • Quoc's son
    Thi Hai Yen Do
    • Mui
    Aidan Nguyen
    Anh Tuan
    • Director
      • Anh Hung Tran
    • Writer
      • Anh Hung Tran
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Cyclo
    7.2
    Cyclo
    The Scent of Green Papaya
    7.3
    The Scent of Green Papaya
    I Come with the Rain
    5.3
    I Come with the Rain
    Norwegian Wood
    6.3
    Norwegian Wood
    Eternity
    5.5
    Eternity
    Children of the Mist
    7.6
    Children of the Mist
    Three Seasons
    7.2
    Three Seasons
    Dreamy Eyes
    6.9
    Dreamy Eyes
    Tony Takitani
    7.3
    Tony Takitani
    In the Name of the Law
    7.5
    In the Name of the Law
    Autumn Tale
    7.4
    Autumn Tale
    Song lang
    7.7
    Song lang

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Vietnam's official submission to the 73rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.
    • Connections
      Referenced in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2010 (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Cuoi Cung Cho Mot Tinh Yeu
      Written by Cong Son Trinh

      Performed by Vu Tranh Xuan and Nguyen Quang

    User reviews51

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    It's about almost nothing.
    If you understood that "Seinfeld" was about nothing, then you will accept that "Vertical Ray of the Sun" is about almost nothing. For instance, Hanoi is awash in color and brother and sister listen to Lou Reed while they exercise their bodies and exorcise their incestuous longings. Nothing else happens.

    Meanwhile 2 other sisters are working through affairs that threaten their marriages but resolve in the film to uncertainty about their future. What is certain is the "violent and passionate undercurrent," as director Tran calls it, with a "mischievous humor to it." I failed to find the humor or the passion, just a ballet of souls languishing in the boredom of marriage or the banality of emotional incest.

    Almost certainly influenced by Chekov and his equally subtle 3 sisters, the director feels that "[h]armony, or the art of keeping up appearances, could be the title of the story." That's the real beauty of this melodramatic nap, that passion hidden away from the world disguises everyone involved, so that only a wife could suspect a look or an innocent-looking note. On the surface is a harmony, a café of peaceful meetings owned by sisters whose stories will never be publicly told with passion or humor.

    Any movie that calmly shows skin being pulled from a chicken foot or sisters talking furtively about sauteing and eating a penis should be full of passion and humor. It is not. It rather shows the director's appreciation of the Robert-Bresson school of directing where essence comes before adventure, restraint before passion.

    Perhaps the director aptly characterizes his movie when he says, ''My thoughts turned back to my childhood in DaNang, remembering the time when I'd be waiting to fall asleep at night, my mind racing from one thing to another, nothing precise. The smell of fruit coming in through the window, a woman's voice singing on the radio. Everything was so vague. It was like a feeling of suspension. If I've ever experienced harmony in my life it was then. It was just a matter of translating that rhythm and that musicality into the new film.''

    I vote for "suspension" as this slowly beautiful film's operative word.
    helpful•10
    3
    • JohnDeSando
    • Oct 31, 2001

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 24, 2000 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • Vietnam
      • France
      • Germany
    • Official site
      • Lazennec (French, english) (France)
    • Language
      • Vietnamese
    • Also known as
      • Mùa Hè Chiều Thẳng Đứng
    • Filming locations
      • Ha Long Bay, Quang Bình Province, Vietnam
    • Production companies
      • Arte France Cinéma
      • Canal+
      • Lazennec Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $110,134
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $32,248
      • Jul 8, 2001
    • Gross worldwide
      • $201,247
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 52 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)
    Top Gap
    What is the English language plot outline for The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.