THE SUN

DIRECTED & PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALEXANDER SOKUROV

“Sokurov has shot this wonderfully eccentric and fascinating film… as if it were a science- fiction film…
Mr. Ogata… is mesmerizing… As a portrait of pathology — that of Japan and of Hirohito both — it’s terrific.”
— Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“The tone is both grave and gently comic, an ambiguity caught perfectly by Issey Ogata’s extraordinary
central performance… (Sokurov’s) vision is beautiful, mysterious and – surprisingly – optimistic.”
– Tony Rayns, Sight & Sound magazine

“One of the best films of the year.” – James Quandt, Artforum

August 15, 1945: a shocked Japan hears the voice of divine leader Emperor Hirohito for the first time, as he implores his people to cease all military activity, initiating a formal end to WWII and the beginning of a new period of American Occupation, led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Acclaimed Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (RUSSIAN ARK, MOTHER AND SON, ALEXANDRA) creates an incisive, eerie portrait of the enigmatic Hirohito during the twilight of the war, as he faces surrender and renunciation of his divine status. Issey Ogata (YI YI) gives a mesmerizing performance as the defeated emperor whose legendary meetings with MacArthur determine the fate of his nation and lay the foundation for Japan’s phoenix-like postwar reconstruction. “Wonderfully eccentric and fascinating… As a portrait of pathology — that of Japan and of Hirohito both — it’s terrific.” — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Official Media Sponsor of THE SUN at Film Forum

RUSSIA / ITALY / FRANCE / SWITZERLAND • 2005 • 110 MINS
IN ENGLISH & JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES • LORBER FILMS