Sunshine

On Friday we watched the movie The English Patient, starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe, Naveen Andrews, and Colin Firth (in a minor role). Although it differs in a lot from the book, it is a beautiful movie, and Fiennes is brilliant in it. It's a pity he didn't get the Oscar (not that Geoffrey Rush doesn't deserve it). Speaking of which, Márta Sebestyén didn't get the Grammy either. Both the soundtrack and the photography were beautiful. You know, this is the kind of film after which you are flooded by emotions and thoughts. You start to think about life and what living means.

It seems that Fiennes has a talent for playing Hungarians. Yesterday we watched István Szabó's Sunshine (A napfény íze) as well, which is an almost-three-hour-long saga about a Jewish-Hungarian family (Fiennes playing three characters, the grandfather Ignác Sonnenschein/Sors, the father Ádám Sors, and finally the narrator Iván Sors/Sonnenschein). The film, which is based on Szabó's screenplay, tells the rise and fall of the Sonnenscheins as well as the changes in Hungarian history from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy to the 1960s.
Although fictious, this is a could-be-true story, and it was strange to see how so many changes took place within three generations, and how all this affected the family. The greatgrandfather, Emmanuel (Manó) became a successful businessman by producing a herbal liqueur called "the taste of sunshine" based on his father's recipe, written down in a black notebook. One of his sons, Ignác studied law in Wien, then became a judge, faithful to Kaiser Franz Joseph. The other son, Gusztáv, became a doctor, and joined the Communist Party. They also had a foster child, cousin to the boys, called Valerie, who passionately fell in love with Ignác, and also married him.

You can see that from the beginning there was a curse on the family, and as time went by, the situation deteriorated due to Jewish laws. Ádám, whose father Ignác received a golden order (I don't know the exact name) for his services in WWI, and who himself was an Olympic champion in fencing, ended up in a holocaust camp. After the end of WWII his son, Iván sought revenge and joined the ÁVO (Hungarian secret police) in the hope of finding and punishing the anti-semitic elements of the previous, right-wing regime.
I'm sorry for spoiling the story, though it's far richer than what I've just summarized here. It is a story that all Hungarians should know, and I found it easier and more touching this way than reading a history book or visiting the House of Terror on Andrássy Ave. What is interesting in the film is that it is not accusing anyone, rather it depicts three generations of this family seeking happiness, metaphorized as "the taste of sunshine." Szabó's strength lies in symbols, and I really liked the recurring motifs, such as the ticking of the clock.
Other than Fiennes there were no big hits casted, except for perhaps Rachel Weisz, who played a minor role. Valerie Sonnenschein was played by actresses Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris, daughter and mother in real life, and I really liked their acting. As the narrator said, Valerie was the only person in the family who felt free, as the other members lived under the pressure of expectations. The greatgrandmother, Róza was yet another temperamental woman, played by Miriam Margoyles, who is probably best-known as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films. There appeared some Hungarian actors as well, the most prominent being Mari Törőcsik, who played the maid of the family, serving for all generations.
Based on these experiences (i.e. the movies The English Patient and Sunshine) my plans include watching more Fiennes-movies (though definitely not stupid ones such as In Bruges); watching more Szabó-movies; reading Herodotus, which played a crucial part in TEP; learning more about the situation of Jews; and we'll see the rest.

P.S. I can't help noticing how gorgeous RF is/was. Not just his blue eyes but his body as well.
P.P.S. Just found out that the score for Sunshine was composed by Academy Award-winner Maurice Jarre, father to electronic composer Jean Michel Jarre.
P.P.P.S. More on the real Almásy here.