Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

cheeftanz I LOVE Ralph... LOVE him. But despite the great film quality and generally great acting, I could not stay put...daydreamed half the movie away. BORING.. Cut in half and less focus on religious intolerance then OK. Jews were persecuted, so was everybody else in the long and brutal human history. Got it. Fatigue already. A film about the Jews saving other brutally oppressed people would be better. Go find that story.

Ricky Roma Sunshine is one of those films I was predisposed towards liking before I'd even seen it. I liked the idea of a film dealing with three generations of a family (one that goes through war and revolution) and I liked the idea of Ralph Fiennes playing multiple roles. Consequently, I was pleased that the film lived up to my expectations.Ralph Fiennes is unquestionably the main reason why the film works so well. Each character he plays (the narrator, and the narrator's father and grandfather) is distinctive and separate from the rest while also having the traits of previous generations. For instance, each character is passionate and stubborn, and each is caught up in twisted love affairs and has to fight anti-Semitism, but while Ignatz is a free spirit who gradually becomes more and more bitter, Adam is a confident ladykiller and Ivan is a sullen bureaucrat who slowly comes to life towards the end. It's a subtle, unflashy performance, and one that works superbly.It also transcends gimmickry. But while Fiennes deserves credit for making his performance work, the writing and direction are also excellent. I especially like the way that certain themes resonate through the different generations – each character has to fight against prejudice, is burned by people in power and has unsuccessful relationships. Times may change but people don't.This sentiment is proved true by the various regimes that inhabit the film. The Hungarian monarchy, the fascist military and the communists may all be different in terms of aesthetics, but at heart they're all the same. They're all power hungry and they have no loyalty towards their citizens; they may preach freedom, but all they want is control and the perks of authority. And through the film those in power betray each successive generation of the Sonnenschein family, and in each case anti-Semitism is at the root of the problem. Not that the family doesn't try its hardest to fit in. Ignatz changes the Jewish surname Sonnenschein to the more neutral Sors so that he can become an important judge. And for a while he prospers, but then the monarchy starts to talk of Jewish conspiracies. However, Ignatz stays loyal and he refuses to join the communists when they briefly take over, leading him to become incredibly bitter and to die a miserable death.But the family doesn't learn. Adam, Ignatz's son, becomes close to the military regime that takes over from the communists by becoming part of the Officer's Club fencing team. But like his father, he isn't allowed to becoming part of the club straight away. He's only allowed to join the elite fencing team after he's converted to Catholicism. The family's identity is being eroded even further. But he's driven to this decision by an inferiority complex. There's a scene where he's bullied by a gang of older boys as a child who mock the fact that he's Jewish. They hold a sword to his throat. They make him apologise for being Jewish and for polluting the air. This drives him towards fencing and he eventually becomes an Olympic champion. But the childhood scene is chillingly echoed in the scene where Adam is taken to a labour camp during the outbreak of the Second World War. The soldiers ask him what he is and he refuses to say that he's a Jew. Instead he says that he's an Olympic gold medallist. He's trying to assert his true identity, rather than the technicalities of birth and heritage. But the soldiers wont have it, and in the most powerful scene in the film, they strip and beat him while continually asking him the same question. He refuses to beg like he did as a child and to apologise for what he is and as a result he's strung up on a tree, and in the dead of winter, is hosed down. The water freezes on him and he dies with his son watching on.But despite watching this atrocity, Ivan (Adam's son) fails to learn the lesson it should teach him. It should teach him never to repeat these sorts of things. But instead, consumed by a desire for revenge and by naive idealism (his championing of Stalin is rather hard to stomach), he joins the communist party that takes over the country after the war. First he's asked to capture the fascists, but then as the communist party proves itself no better than anyone else, he's asked to betray friends based on trumped up charges. He even becomes like the guards who killed his father when he's asked to continue torturing his friend who refuses to confess to being part of a conspiracy. And on top of that he even has to endure more anti-Semitism – the Jews make an easy scapegoat when you're incompetent (like the monarchy, the communists fear that the Jews are conspiring to take over the country). But unlike Ignatz and Adam, Ivan gets a second chance. He sees through the crap and leaves the party. And in the end he even changes the family name back from Sors to Sonnenschein. It's an excellent ending. It shows that you can't hide what you are and that it's better to stand up and be counted. Why feel shame for something there's nothing to be ashamed of? However, I do have a couple of minor gripes. First, the set-up is extraordinarily brief. I know the film is fighting for time, but the opening few minutes are a bit of a whirlwind. And secondly, Rachel Weisz's character is incredibly annoying. I didn't enjoy her performance at all. But those problems are nothing really. They certainly didn't prevent me from enjoying the film.

noralee During the almost 3 hours of "Sunshine" I had plenty of time to think about how Ralph Fiennes seems to be made to make period pictures unlike say Harvey Keitel and Kevin Costner who were wincible in theirs. Fiennes bares all for penance for his "Schindler's List" character in this lavish look at 3 generations of a Jewish family in Hungary as they try to assimilate vs. never-ending anti-Semitism. Fiennes plays all 3 generations of males in the family as they accommodate with imperialism, fascism and communism-- and gee not once does anyone say "You look so much like your father!", though the all senior citizen audience guffawed by his 3rd appearance. But then they also guffawed that all the repetitive sex is the same through the century, lustful attacks on the sly with much frantic clothes removal, and unflattering camera angles up the nose. Tony-nommed mother and daughter team Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris breathe tremendous life into the movie as the younger and older self of a fulcrum character, which Fiennes did less often because his characters were so repressed. I'm not sure if it was intentional that each of the 3 generations had the same personality so that the viewer tells them apart by their facial hair and costumes (well, when he's wearing clothes).In more ways than one this reminded me of "The Marriage of Maria Braun," a bitingly satirical German film that made similar points with humor on the same theme as "Meet the New Boss, same as the Old Boss." The script, co-written by the director and Israel Horowitz, I assume the playwright, is too didactic in making its points, but the philosophical decision points it focuses on in history are interesting, trying to identify when and about what people should take a stand or go along.The look is even beyond Merchant/Ivory retro feasts, absolutely beautiful settings, costumes, a visual feast. For example, a scene from the 1936 Olympics mingles newsreel film with ersatz recreated newsreel film and new color scenes as the camera follows the crowds in Nazi uniforms. I stayed through all the credits but the locations weren't identified -- where is that sumptuous Ministry of "Justice"? (originally written 6/25/2000)

deadlylizardbreath I saw Sunshine over a year ago on CBC over a year ago and at once fell in love with it. Sunshine is a beautiful story of a Jewish family's tragic destiny throughout the late 1800s and the first fifty years of the 20th century.The acting in this film is superb and the storyline was magnificent. I think this story has a very positive message, if this is the hidden message. No matter what, always enjoy life to the fullest. But it is a shame that Sunshine isn't a more widely known film because I'm certain it would become a blockbuster hit. I give Sunshine a 10/10. I recommend it to anyone in the mood for an excellent film.