Sazbo's film Sunshine is an old fashioned family epic, telling the story of five generations of middle-class, physically attractive Hungarian Jews, from the last days of empire up until the present. The men of the family (three of them played by Ralph Feinnes!) are invariably emotionally repressed; the women both sensual and strong. The same dilemmas repeat themselves over and over: to what extent to assimilate and compromise; whether to conform or revolt. The grand historical sweep helps maintain interest; but inevitably leads to an absence of tautness in the plot, which unfolds linearly for over three hours.
The film has other problems too. A largely Anglophile cast struggles to convince as central Europeans; the dialogue is wooden and didactic; while potentially mighty tales are clumsily reduced to a few sequential scenes presenting merely a schematic outline, often in a heavy-handed and obvious manner. In some ways this is history as written in the textbooks; slightly impersonal, with emblematic characters chosen to accentuate each lesson. It's thus powerful as a reminder of the truth; less so if viewed as fiction.
I liked the understated use of Schubert in the soundtrack. But a film this long needs more coherence and passion. File under "worthy but dull".
The film has other problems too. A largely Anglophile cast struggles to convince as central Europeans; the dialogue is wooden and didactic; while potentially mighty tales are clumsily reduced to a few sequential scenes presenting merely a schematic outline, often in a heavy-handed and obvious manner. In some ways this is history as written in the textbooks; slightly impersonal, with emblematic characters chosen to accentuate each lesson. It's thus powerful as a reminder of the truth; less so if viewed as fiction.
I liked the understated use of Schubert in the soundtrack. But a film this long needs more coherence and passion. File under "worthy but dull".