SUNSHINE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Covering the last 140 years of
Hungarian history and anti-Semitism, SUNSHINE is
the story of one Hungarian Jewish family, each
willing to do what is necessary to be successful
and safe with the current regime and each
finding it impossible to be accepted. Ralph
Fiennes plays three generations of fathers and
sons. The film does not quite live up to its
ambitions, but in trying it is far better than
many a film that succeeded in less ambitious
undertakings. Rating: 9 (0 to 10), +3 (-4 to
+4).
SUNSHINE chronicles four generations of the Hungarian Sonnenschein family, from around the 1870s to recent history. Three generations of sons share a common desire to be accepted Hungarians. They have more loyalty to the country than to their religion. Each finds sooner or later that they can deny their religion, but they cannot become what they are not. Each new regime uses the family's Jewish origins as a weapon against them.
Emmanuel has two sons, Gustave and Ignatz. He also adopts as his daughter his niece Valerie. To his horror, as his sons age they become romantically interested in Valerie. Since he has raised all of them as his children this has the feel of incest. And there is some truth to his fears because they are cousins. But Ignatz and Valerie as adults (Ralph Fiennes and Jennifer Ehle) are willing to ignore Emmanuel's wishes and marry. And Ignatz has a bright legal mind. He is willing to give up his religion, change his name to the non-Jewish name Sors, and surrender his scruples to advance his legal career in the military, yet he is always limited by the Hungarian aristocracy who cannot accept a man born as a Jew.
Ignatz's son Adam (Fiennes again) makes himself the finest fencer in Hungary. Even one generation removed from his Jewish origins, the Hungarian aristocracy still holds his religion against him. In the 1936 Olympics he becomes a Hungarian national hero. And in his success he feels he is at last free of his origins. He is three ways exempt from the new Jewish laws that the Nazis bring on Hungary. But he discovers all the barriers he has placed between himself and his religion are to no avail.
Adam's son Ivan (a third personality for Fiennes), indignant at the horrific treatment of his father at the hands of the Fascists, eagerly joins the Communists to embrace their reforms against the previous regime. But he is unwilling to learn from the history of his own family that political regimes come and go, but the same prejudices remain with all political systems.
SUNSHINE was written and directed by Istvan Szabo, director of MEPHISTO and HANUSSEN. At just three hours it strikes the viewer not so much as being long for a movie but as being short to chronicle a family over so many years. Sadly, there are few media for a drama whose natural length is something like five hours. Szabo is able to give us a textured view of Hungary, occasionally doing it by giving in to artificial devices, especially camera filters, to suggest the age of chapters. The change of filters jarringly announcing the beginning of a new chapter of his story. A different filter still is used where there is documentary footage. In each generation there is a different personality for Fiennes, but each makes much the same decision to try to fit in and assimilate. Each has the same pessimism that he must cover his origins and the same optimism that it will help. Each generation rebels, but at last the similarities in the stories are greater than the differences. And over it all is watching Valerie, played by Jennifer Ehle and later Rosemary Harris, in reality daughter and mother actors. The choice of Maurice Jarre to score is well in keeping with its historical sweep. Lajos Koltai's camera frequently beautifully recreates Hungary through the 1930s, until there is much less beauty in Hungary to film. Viewers should expect some fairly explicit depictions of love and just as explicit are the depictions of hatred.
As rushed as it is this is a film with a sweep of history, a personal story within the turmoil. It is a remarkable document and one worth seeing. I give it 9 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 2000 Mark R. Leeper
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