Sunshine Page #3

Synopsis: The film follows a Jewish family living in Hungary through three generations, rising from humble beginnings to positions of wealth and power in the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Empire. The patriarch becomes a prominent judge but is torn when his government sanctions anti-Jewish persecutions. His son converts to Christianity to advance his career as a champion fencer and Olympic hero, but is caught up in the Holocaust. Finally, the grandson, after surviving war, revolution, loss and betrayal, realizes that his ultimate allegiance must be to himself and his heritage.
Director(s): István Szabó
Production: Paramount Classics
  Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 11 wins & 14 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.5
Metacritic:
71
Rotten Tomatoes:
73%
R
Year:
1999
181 min
685 Views


a time-consuming process.

You're a bright young man.

I envy you.

One other small matter.

Five judges are about to retire.

We'll need

replacements quickly.

I would like

your recommendations.

Young men

who think like you.

You think you're clever

don't you?

- Yes, I think so.

- You are acting like a coward.

You are helping them

to cover up the case.

I think the opposition is trying

to bring down someone high up.

As far as I'm concerned, they can

bring down the entire government!

Why can't you see corruption's

at the very core of the monarchy?

No, at the core there is a liberal,

fair-minded ruler...

who's able to keep peace among

many different kinds of people.

- The Emperor has wisdom behind him.

- And a lifetime of oppression!

- Maybe that's part of his wisdom.

- Tell that to his victims.

My God, Ignatz,

you are selling your soul.

- Who are you trying to please?

- "To please"?

Let's start with you

and your simple Hungarian heart.

Then I have

to please our family...

and the memory of our rabbi

grandfather and his blessed Torah.

There's the Emperor,

liberal spirit, Roman law.

I have to please the government

and its opposition.

What about my own

sense of justice?

I have to please our brother, who

wants to turn the world upside down,

and our father, who wants to keep

the world exactly as it is!

These are the people

I'm trying to please!

dd [Playing]

- [Guests Chattering]

- dd [Continues]

dd

Would you like some air,

my dear?

[Sighing]

[Sighs]

dd [Clock Chiming]

dd [Chiming Continues]

dd [Chiming Continues]

[Ticking,

Continues Chiming]

The 19th century is over!

Long live the 20th century!

[Guests Chattering,

Chuckling]

Happy 20th century,

Mama.

- This is your father talking.

- [Laughs]

Can you hear me?

Long live the 20th century.

- [Chuckling]

- Amen.

I predict this will be a century

of love, justice and tolerance.

As long as we have our health,

we can work the rest out.

Happy 20th century.

I wish you

happiness always...

and may the child

be strong and healthy.

Thank you, Mama.

- dd

- Let's have a twirl in the snow.

- dd

- [Guests Laughing, Chatting]

[Straining]

- [Gasps, Panting]

- [Baby Crying]

[Narrator] Two days later,

Valerie gave birth to her first son,

- Istvan.

- [Crying]

[Crying Continues]

It's a boy.

It's a healthy boy.

[Gasps, Crying]

[Istvan Fussing]

It's all right, Rose.

Everything's all right.

- The curse, Emmanuel.

- The baby's perfect.

[Chuckling, Crying]

My dear Count, please allow me

to introduce Judge Sors.

- I've mentioned him many times.

- Oh, yes.

The man who warms the cockles

of your heart. [Chuckles]

- My pleasure, sir. Forgach.

- Ignatz Sors.

- Are you a hunting man?

- I am...

- I am afraid not, no.

- You'll catch on quickly.

dd [Horn]

[Squealing]

[Guns Firing]

[Gunfire Continues]

[Men Shouting]

- [Fires]

- [Animal Falls]

- [Groans]

- [Gunfire, Shouting Continue]

Come in.

Delighted to see you.

Please, do sit.

Thank you.

Let me just get straight

to the point.

Would you like to stand

for Parliament?

Seriously.

What are you suggesting,

Excellency?

We find

an appropriate district...

and put your name

on the party's ticket.

L...

I don't think I could.

Why not? You're young, ambitious.

Your hands are clean.

The people think you're clever.

You're living proof the monarchy...

is enlightened and supportive

of middle-class values.

Frankly, it's a challenge

that's tailor-made for you.

[Narrator] My grandfather

was fiercely tempted...

by this invitation

to join the ruling class.

You must feel so honored

that refined,

influential gentlemen

appreciate you.

Excuse me, Mother,

but thanks to the influence...

of these "refined gentlemen,"

there has never been...

such rampant corruption,

such miserable conditions...

for working people than there is

at this very moment.

You're exaggerating,

Gustave.

Exaggerate? You come with me

to my clinic, Mother.

You see tubercular, gout-ridden,

undernourished workers...

and their emaciated,

half-starved children.

Come with me on house calls

to dank, musty rooms...

where people

sleep three to a bed.

Old people sleeping

on kitchen floors.

Ask bakers why people steal crumbs

from the floors of their wagons.

Why people line up

to buy stale bread!

You're describing conditions

in the poorest slums.

You can't expect the government

to change things overnight.

- Why not?

- I would be shamed if my husband...

were to stand for office

in such a corrupt government.

Wouldn't you all

be ashamed of him?

Honestly. Wouldn't you be

ashamed of yourself?

All I said is that I've been asked

to stand for election. Nothing more.

They're getting desperate.

The monarchy's become so weak,

they'll grab anyone that

makes them look respectable.

We are proud

you've had this offer, son.

It proves that your education

has been of value,

that you do your work well,

that you're respected.

But our people

must never climb too high,

even when

they're invited.

The man who comes from

somewhere else is always suspect.

- We must stop and accept this.

- [Istvan Chattering]

- [Gustave Sighs]

- [Emmanuel Sighs]

If ever we expect

to find happiness in this life,

we need to know who we are.

Or change it.

[Crying]

[Narrator] My Uncle Istvan

was barely a toddler...

when his brother Adam,

my father, was born.

[Continues Crying]

[Coos Quietly]

[Children Laughing]

My family is against

my being a candidate.

- And why is that?

- They're not happy for me...

- to be involved in politics.

- Who should involve themselves...

in politics, if people

like you and I don't?

I prefer to remain

an independent judge.

Independent? Independent

from what, from the world?

All right, let it be.

I won't try to argue with you.

Just have a look

at this list, please.

The chief of police

just sent it over,

names of members

of Socialist organizations.

Excellency,

I'm obliged to point out...

that my brother's name

is on this list.

Yes, it is.

Would you explain to me

why rich, educated Jews...

are behind every attempt

to overthrow this government?

Jews become doctors, lawyers,

teachers. What more do they want?

I'm sorry I'm late.

What's wrong?

There's information that

you're part of a conspiracy...

intent on overthrowing

the monarchy.

What conspiracy?

What information?

- Oh, God.

- [Ignatz] Well?

What? I've no part

in any conspiracy.

- Don't lie to me, Gustave.

- [Valerie] Keep your voice down.

- Mama and Papa will hear.

- Maybe they should be invited in.

Their house might be searched.

Their precious son, the doctor,

might be arrested.

The only thing keeping

you and your friends...

out of prison

is liberal tolerance.

"Liberal tolerance"?

Is that some sort of joke?

You mean tolerance

for misery and hunger...

for watching hundreds of thousands

of workers sink into poverty.

Is this the kind

of speech you make at rallies?

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István Szabó

István Szabó (Hungarian: [ˈsɒboː ˈiʃtvaːn]; born February 18, 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is the most internationally famous Hungarian filmmaker since the late 1960s. Working in the tradition of European auteurism, he has made films that represent many of the political and psychological conflicts of Central Europe’s recent history, as well as of his own personal history. He made his first short film in 1959 as a student at the Hungarian Academy of Theatrical and Cinematic Arts, and his first feature film in 1964. He achieved his greatest international success with Mephisto (1981), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then, most of Szabó's films have been international co-productions filmed in a variety of languages and European locations. He has continued to make some films in Hungarian, however, and even in his international co-productions, he often films in Hungary and uses Hungarian talent. Szabó became involved in a national controversy in 2006 when the Hungarian newspaper Life and Literature revealed that he had been an informant of the Communist regime’s secret police. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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