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.
- Awards
- 12 wins & 17 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJennifer Ehle, who plays Young Valerie, is the daughter of Rosemary Harris, who plays Older Valerie.
- GoofsWhen 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.
- SoundtracksFantasia for Piano 4 Hands in F minor
(D 940)
Music by Franz Schubert
Performed by Márton Terts, Zsolt Czetner
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.
- DannyBoy-17
- Jul 31, 2000
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Taste of Sunshine
- Filming locations
- Budapest, Hungary(main location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- CA$26,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,096,267
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $42,700
- Dec 19, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $7,918,035
- Runtime3 hours 1 minute
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1