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"Everything's fine
A Sun spanned several years in the lives of a dysfunctional family. One son shown like the sun, radiant and beaming. The other son lingered in the shadows, swallowed in darkness. Each would be envious of the other, unable to claim what they needed, both would suffer dire consequences for their unspoken desires.
A Ho gets caught up in a violent event initiated by his buddy Radish and is sent away to a juvenile detention center. The criminal act is the last straw for his father who washes his hands of him. The father does, however, dote on his seemingly perfect oldest son, A Hao, who is testing for the second time to be accepted into medical school. The mother struggles to keep the family together and in the process the family is expanded when Ho’s girlfriend shows up with a surprise. When Ho is released, he works to take care of his family and put his past behind him. The darkness in his life, however, is not so easily eradicated.
The film hammered home that the two sons were a dichotomy of light and dark, good and evil, night and day, the sun and moon. Yet one yearned for the respite of the shadows, scorched to his soul by ever being the family’s light. Always giving himself away to others, with little leftover to nourish himself. The other son longed for the warmth of affection and acceptance from his family. Frozen from the darkness, afraid he’d never measure up, never feel the sun on his face.
The caretakers of the circus of light and darkness were the parents. Mother Chen fought tirelessly for her family. She tried to pierce the iron shield her idiot husband covered himself in regarding A Ho. With an open heart and open door, she accepted Ho’s girlfriend into their family and also trained her as a hairdresser. She even devised a better work situation for the two of them. Meanwhile, Papa Chen dug into his long-held prejudice against his youngest son. Prickly and recalcitrant, he distanced himself from everyone exasperating the situation. He was too often an impotent passenger at work and at home.
Along with the growth for the main three characters, the cinematography was gorgeous. This film was beautifully shot, including the all-important lighting in a film built on the metaphor. I also enjoyed the OST, especially a mournful instrumental that played during one scene. My biggest peeves were that in a 2 ½ hour film, Ho’s girlfriend was given almost nothing to do or say. Ho had very little interaction with her over the years. While she had a couple of key scenes, the character was badly underdeveloped. With all the time jumps and flash backs, I would have liked to have seen what caused A Ho to go down the criminal path he chose.
I may be a Butterfly but I have the attention span of a gnat and yet I was never bored with this film despite its length and slow burn. Most of the characters were deeply flawed and yet continued to move forward, refusing to give up when it appeared the easiest thing to do. There were moments of pain, humor, anger, and a gut level resiliency. If ever there was a film to express that “Everything’s fine” means exactly the opposite, it’s this one. Well-acted, well-written, painstakingly shot, A Sun shone brightly.
4 November 2025
Trigger warnings: Suicide. Dismembered body part early in the film. A short violent scene near the end.
A Ho gets caught up in a violent event initiated by his buddy Radish and is sent away to a juvenile detention center. The criminal act is the last straw for his father who washes his hands of him. The father does, however, dote on his seemingly perfect oldest son, A Hao, who is testing for the second time to be accepted into medical school. The mother struggles to keep the family together and in the process the family is expanded when Ho’s girlfriend shows up with a surprise. When Ho is released, he works to take care of his family and put his past behind him. The darkness in his life, however, is not so easily eradicated.
The film hammered home that the two sons were a dichotomy of light and dark, good and evil, night and day, the sun and moon. Yet one yearned for the respite of the shadows, scorched to his soul by ever being the family’s light. Always giving himself away to others, with little leftover to nourish himself. The other son longed for the warmth of affection and acceptance from his family. Frozen from the darkness, afraid he’d never measure up, never feel the sun on his face.
The caretakers of the circus of light and darkness were the parents. Mother Chen fought tirelessly for her family. She tried to pierce the iron shield her idiot husband covered himself in regarding A Ho. With an open heart and open door, she accepted Ho’s girlfriend into their family and also trained her as a hairdresser. She even devised a better work situation for the two of them. Meanwhile, Papa Chen dug into his long-held prejudice against his youngest son. Prickly and recalcitrant, he distanced himself from everyone exasperating the situation. He was too often an impotent passenger at work and at home.
Along with the growth for the main three characters, the cinematography was gorgeous. This film was beautifully shot, including the all-important lighting in a film built on the metaphor. I also enjoyed the OST, especially a mournful instrumental that played during one scene. My biggest peeves were that in a 2 ½ hour film, Ho’s girlfriend was given almost nothing to do or say. Ho had very little interaction with her over the years. While she had a couple of key scenes, the character was badly underdeveloped. With all the time jumps and flash backs, I would have liked to have seen what caused A Ho to go down the criminal path he chose.
I may be a Butterfly but I have the attention span of a gnat and yet I was never bored with this film despite its length and slow burn. Most of the characters were deeply flawed and yet continued to move forward, refusing to give up when it appeared the easiest thing to do. There were moments of pain, humor, anger, and a gut level resiliency. If ever there was a film to express that “Everything’s fine” means exactly the opposite, it’s this one. Well-acted, well-written, painstakingly shot, A Sun shone brightly.
4 November 2025
Trigger warnings: Suicide. Dismembered body part early in the film. A short violent scene near the end.
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