While the Holocaust is certainly one of the greatest tragedies in history, many cinematic attempts to convey this event have been so shamelessly animated that the entire Holocaust genre has already gone tiresome. Films like "Schindler's List" and "Life is Beautiful" blatantly aim at the viewers' tear glands and reduce a human tragedy to a plot device that manipulates the audience. Most seasoned and sophisticated moviegoers eventually find themselves becoming increasingly suspicious and even disgusted by these filmmakers' attempts.
Sunshine - R
Starring:
Ralph Fiennes, Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris
Directed by:
Istvan Szabo
Now playing:
Showplace 12 West
|
Fortunately, "Sunshine" is a different kind of Holocaust movie that tells a compelling story with great human interest. Perhaps this is because the film isn't about the Holocaust after all. While the Holocaust is prominently featured in the backdrop and in the collective conscience of the characters in the film, "Sunshine" focuses on how people become disillusioned by their ideals.
Set in Budapest, the film tracks four generations of the Sonnenschein family through every historical event of the century. These include New Year's Eve of 1899, World War II, the Soviet invasion and finally the fall of the Iron Curtain.
The events not only serve as the backdrop, they also influence the fate of the Sonnenschein family's three siblings. They are torn apart by their ideals, and their lives and relationships continue to reinvent themselves as the political power change hands.
Ralph Fiennes portrays three different roles as three different generations in the Sonnenschein family. Thankfully, the three hour film is told in a linear manner so the audience won't be confused by exactly which character Fiennes is playing. The film is not altogether without flaws. Its first act glides by so rapidly that hardly anyone will find it engaging.
Once the film proceeds into its second act, its momentum begins to build as the characters begin to face more and more dilemmas as they are caught between their ideals and reality. As the film gradually unfolds, it becomes increasingly captivating and emotionally overwhelming. When "Sunshine" finally reaches the end of its long winding road, it truly emerges as one of the most powerful and insightful movies ever filmed about the Holocaust.
