12 year old Emmanuel Sonnenschein left his village in the Austro-Hungarian Empire after his father died in a distillery explosion. Using his father's recipe, he creates a successful brew called "Taste of Sunshine" in Budapest. He has two sons Ignatz (Ralph Fiennes) and Gustave (James Frain). He also adopts his orphan niece Valerie (Jennifer Ehle). Ignatz becomes a prominent judge and marries Valerie. Gustave becomes a communist. The family struggles continue over the years as Ralph Fiennes plays different characters in each generation of Sonnenschein.
This is a big ambitious movie. The idea of playing three generations within the same family may be compelling to Fiennes but they may be better off doing a trilogy. This could be also be a good TV series. There is simply too much material to contain in one sitting. Nevertheless Ralph Fiennes does a great job and the sweep of the whole experience is quite compelling.
This is a big ambitious movie. The idea of playing three generations within the same family may be compelling to Fiennes but they may be better off doing a trilogy. This could be also be a good TV series. There is simply too much material to contain in one sitting. Nevertheless Ralph Fiennes does a great job and the sweep of the whole experience is quite compelling.