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Poster for The Sun

The Sun

2005 · 1h 50m Drama, History
Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov

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Overview

Biographical film depicting Japanese Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) during the final days of World War II. The film is the third drama in director Aleksandr Sokurov's trilogy, which included Taurus about the Soviet Union's Vladimir Lenin and Moloch about Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
92%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Working from Yuri Arabov and Jeremy Noble's script, Sokurov has a wonderful time not simply with Hirohito and history, but with his filmmaking, which can be oblique to the point of being stultifying. Here he plays with scale.

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Fresh

Alexander Sokurov's The Sun demands and rewards patience.

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh

The Sun took four years to reach American theaters, but the long delay hasn't diminished the force of Sokurov's experimentation.

Sam Adams, AV Club
Fresh

First shown at the Berlin Film Festival four years ago, The Sun is finally receiving its welcome American theatrical release, which means that one of the best movies of 2005 is now also one of the best of 2009.

Manohla Dargis, New York Times
Fresh

Though he successfully humanizes Hirohito, who is shown happily shedding his divinity, Sokurov doesn't entirely exonerate him.

J. Hoberman, Village Voice

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