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Here’s something for those few who don’t want to see (or can’t get tickets to) the big superhero slugfest that’s on most of this country’s movie screens. It’s a drama set in a turbulent time in another country. It’s full of lush intricate costumes and lavish estates because it’s set near the end of a genteel, refined era, just before the dawning of the coarse, mechanized, violent modern age. Perhaps that’s the reason for the English title: Sunset.

After a title card telling us about the 1913 rivalry between Budapest and Vienna, the camera is locked on the listless face of an aristocratic young woman, perhaps in her early twenties being served at a clothes store. After trying on several fancy decorative hats, she announces that she’s actually there in search of a job. The flustered floor manager Zelma (Evelin Dobos...

Chicago – History is made when you’re often busy making other plans. That is ardently illustrated in “Sunset,” a drama set early in the second decade of the 20th Century in the on-the-brink-of-revolution capital of Budapest, Hungary. A retail store is the town’s centerpiece, plus there is a mysterious woman associated with that store, until she isn’t.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Juli Jakab portrays the woman, and she single handedly (practically) brings this history to life. The camera focuses on Jakab in a series of episodic vignettes amid the edgy and anarchy-ridden streets of the city, giving the film a sense of confinement from everything going on around her. That is part of the remarkable nature of this film … while the eye of the action is on the woman, squeezed around her in the frame are the events of that moment. This may be as simple as a team of horse thundering by,...

Sunset (Napszállta) Sony Pictures Classics Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net by: Harvey Karten Director: Lázló Nemes Screenwriter: Lázsló Nemes, Clara Royer, Matthieu Taponier Cast: Juli Jakab, Vlad Ivanov, Evelin Dobos, Marcin Czarnik, Levente Molnr, Julia Jakubowska Screened at: Sony, NYC, 1/31/19 Opens: Tbd The 1950s in America may be looked upon as perhaps the dullest […]

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Two historic dramas headline a comparatively slow weekend for new Specialty roll outs vs. last weekend’s heavy roster. Bleecker Street/ShivHans Pictures’ Hotel Mumbai with Oscar-nominee Dev Patel and Golden Globe-nominee Armie Hammer will have a minimal start in New York and Los Angeles ahead of a fairly wide release in the coming weeks. The film recounts the true events in 2008 when terrorists laid siege of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. Sony Pictures Classics is opening Budapest-set Sunset by László Nemes, whose previous feature, Son Of Saul won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. Sunset is a fictional drama set amid the tense days leading up to World War I. The film will have a slow roll out, beginning in New York and L.A. Grand Rapids, Michigan, however, will have the theatrical bow for Oscilloscope’s Relaxer by Joel Potrykus. The company is opening the title...

A few years ago, filmmaker László Nemes blew festival audiences away with his Holocaust tale Son of Saul. Starting with an award winning debut at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie more or less swept the awards season, culminating in an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Feature. Nemes was immediately a new name to watch on the international cinema stage. Now, after screening a bit last year, his follow up effort Sunset hits theaters this week. Unfortunately, he’s not able to repeat the success from last time out. This is a definite letdown of an experience and a real big disappointment. Alas. The film is a drama set in Budapest during the year 1913, before World War I would devastate Europe. When Irisz Leiter (Juli Jakab) first arrives in the Hungarian capital, she aims to work at a special hat store that once belonged to her late parents. Despite the desire to become a milliner,...

After earning an Oscar for Son of Saul, director László Nemes is back with another Hungarian Academy Award entry with Sunset. Following its premiere at Venice and Tiff, the story of a woman in 1913 Budapest as she confronts those in a town that won’t let her take her own path will get a 2019 release from Sony Pictures Classics, who have now debuted the first U.S. trailer.

Rory O’Connor said in his review, “As with any righteous character coming up against unfathomable power, it proves a rather unsafe ride. Like Son of Saul, we follow her every movement and Nemes’ Dantean tendencies soon turn Sunset from sumptuous period piece into an escalating nightmare where horrors lie in wait around every corner. Though this dizzying sense of imminent violence is what Nemes does best, some viewers may be put off by how Sunset uses rape in service of what...

"Leave this place. Blood will flow here this week." Sony Pictures Classics has released the official Us trailer for the new film from Hungarian director László Nemes (of Son of Saul previously) titled Sunset, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this year. This sprawling, epic historical drama is set in Budapest in 1913, "in the heart of Europe as World War I approaches." The story is about a young woman named Írisz Leiter, who tries to get a job at a legendary hat store that once belonged to her late parents. She ends up lost in the overwhelming chaos of a bustling Budapest. Juli Jakab stars as Írisz, and the full cast includes Vlad Ivanov, Susanne Wuest, Björn Freiberg, Levente Molnár, Mónika Balsai, Urs Rechn, Evelin Dobos, and Judit Bárdos. A remarkable feat of authentic filmmaking, this film is demands our attention. Here's the official Us trailer (+ new poster) for László Nemes' Sunset,...

"Why are you so sad?" Screen International has unveiled the first official trailer for László Nemes' new film Sunset and my goodness does it looks incredible. This is the next film from the highly acclaimed Hungarian director of the film Son of Saul, and it's set to premiere at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals this fall. Sunset tells the story of a young girl who grows up to become a strong and fearless woman in Budapest before World War I. Juli Jakab stars as Írisz Leiter, and the cast includes Vlad Ivanov, Susanne Wuest, Björn Freiberg, Levente Molnár, Mónika Balsai, Urs Rechn, Judit Bárdos, and Evelin Dobos. I don't know much about this film yet, but I think it looks extraordinary already, especially because I believe Nemes is a genius (for making Son of Saul). I'll be seeing this in Venice and will have a review up soon after.