The Sun

Colour, 35 mm
Russia, Italy, France, 2005, 110 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Celebrated long shots, a well thoughtout inner structure, a slow pace of depiction, long periods of silence – these constants in Sokurov’s direction are here reinforced in this evocation of the spiritual disposition of Japanese Emperor Hirohito at the end of World War II, a few days before signing the capitulation, and during the act itself. In the fictitious first half of the film,  such is implied through the emperor’s conduct towards various figures who go to visit him in his bunker, but the focal point of the testimony is in the weave of the subtle details of his facial expressions and gestures which involuntarily bear witness to his extreme anxiety. In the second part of the film, we see his first encounter with American soldiers, in particular, General Douglas McArthur, whose task is to force the emperor to sign the capitulation. In Sokurov’s hands, their negotiation is not only a stirring psychological game, but also a tribute to two commanding figures and a sublime reflection on their irreconcilable cultural differences.

About the director

Alexander Sokurov (b. 1951, Podorvikha), director and cameraman, studied history and then documentary filmmaking at VGIK. To date he has filmed 26 documentaries; The Sun is his 15th feature. His meditative works, weighing up key moments in humanity and modern history, are typically cultural events, screened and awarded at important international festivals. Several of his films have also been screened in Karlovy Vary, most recently Russian Ark in 2002. The Sun is the penultimate film in Sokurov’s planned tetralogy about power. He began it with Moloch (1999), a study of Hitler at a time the Führer sensed his own downfall, then followed Taurus (2001), in which he depicted Lenin’s futile battle with his increasingly failing spirit. Of his image of Hirohito in The Sun, he adds: “The emperor is a symbol of the possibility of finding a positive solution to any situation. He is a symbol of life, whereas Hitler and Lenin, unyielding in their ambitions, will always be associated with death, with senseless mass killings”.