Sunset Song

Name: Sunset Song
Genre: Drama
Released: May 13, 2016
Duration: 135 min
Rating: 73

2016

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Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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Sunset Song

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: May 13, 2016 | R

Summary: Set in a rural Scottish community during the early years of the twentieth century, Sunset Song is driven by the young heroine Chris and her intense passion for life, for the unsettling Ewan and for the unforgiving land. The First World War reaches out from afar, bringing the modern world to bear on the community in the harshest possibleSet in a rural Scottish community during the early years of the twentieth century, Sunset Song is driven by the young heroine Chris and her intense passion for life, for the unsettling Ewan and for the unforgiving land. The First World War reaches out from afar, bringing the modern world to bear on the community in the harshest possible way, yet in a final moment of grace, Chris endures, now a woman of remarkable strength who is able to draw from the ancient land in looking to the future. [Magnolia Pictures]… Expand

Director: Terence Davies

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 135 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Sam Adams

May 12, 2016

There are moments in Sunset Song that rank with Davies’ most poignant. Read full review

100

The Film Stage Ethan Vestby

May 9, 2016

Even if the film is somewhat less impressionistic than director Terence Davies’ previous work, many compositions and gestures beyond just the easy-to-praise 70mm vistas feel destined to replay forever and ever in the mind. Read full review

Stephen Holden

May 12, 2016

Like most of Mr. Davies’s films, Sunset Song makes you see the world through his sorrowful eyes. He is a die-hard romantic, whose acute sensitivity to the passage of time conveys a bittersweet awareness of the fragility of beauty, which, for him, is synonymous with melancholy. Read full review

Deborah Young

Sep 19, 2015

It is a rare director who dares to embrace the slow, meditative rhythms of a classic novel without feeling the need to modernize or accelerate it, but Davies uses the measured pace to unfold his poetic vision of the Scottish peasantry and their attachment to the land. Read full review

James Lattimer

May 9, 2016

Terence Davies's sheer talent for creating sensuous images conveniently masks how little of this feeling actually emerges from the plot these images illustrate. Read full review

The Guardian Henry Barnes

Sep 19, 2015

It’s all fairly indulgent. But Sunset Song also has a viciousness that stops it falling too deep into a slumber Read full review

Peter Debruge

Sep 19, 2015

In full anamorphic 65mm splendor, the resulting landscapes are lovely, as is the face of relative newcomer Agyness Deyn in the role of hardy Scottish heroine Chris Guthrie, although the underlying feelings are all but lost, rendered in a difficult-to-fathom Scottish dialect and withheld by Davies’ overly genteel directorial approach. Read full review

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User Reviews

DrBlahBlah

Apr 6, 2021

A bit melodramatic and hard to watch at times, but gorgeously shot and well acted. Not as strong as The Deep Blue Sea, but still compelling.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LeZee

Jun 24, 2016

A journey from the girlhood to womanhood.

An amazing drama about the life, especially it reveals what it would be like being a woman farmer living in the early decade of the twentieth century. The film was adapted from the book of the same name that's dealt with the rural ScottlandA journey from the girlhood to womanhood.

An amazing drama about the life, especially it reveals what it would be like being a woman farmer living in the early decade of the twentieth century. The film was adapted from the book of the same name that's dealt with the rural Scottland subject. Even though I'm not familiar with the original material I would say it was one of the best novel-to-screen translation I have seen. The long runtime has never been the issue, but slowly, solidly told tale. My only disappointment is that it was not in the Scottish language since it was about a Scottish family.

There were many Scottish dialects that I did not get at first, so I had to google them to know the meaning. But I liked it which reveals the true nature of the local culture. I meant it essential to narrate a tale in the native flavour to enhance the richness in its contents. The story sets in the 1910s that centres on a farm girl named Chris. An epic life journey from the girlhood to womanhood. Under her atrocious father, the film tells how the whole family was living in the fear. After a death in the house, the event slowly begins to tear the family apart, leaving Chris behind to take the ultimate decisions about her future and the family land.

Anybody would definitely feel bored in the initiation part, because you won't understand the story right away. If you manage to survive in the first half, then you can easily get through in the remaining by liking it a lot. It was nothing like we know the story or we don't, it was simply about the twist and turns of somebody's life just like ours, except it was from a different timeline. Precisely to say the phases of life is what this film is all about. Like shifting the gear in the car, according to the condition of the road and the destination. The joy and sorrow are the part of the life which is sometimes depends on the decision we and around us make.

"You will need to face men for yourself. When the time comes, there's no one can stand and help."

It was totally an unexpected film, kind of reminded me 'Gone with the Wind' and 'Love Comes Softly'. Focused mainly on a woman, in the men dominated world. It was not just a rural theme, but also sometimes takes us beyond to other topics. Like during the first world war and under the English dominated UK, how the Scots lost the rights and their culture disappeared. No doubt why Scots are asking for their own nation.

The romance was another turning point in the story, like raising strong from the fall. After seeing lots of similar changes, I was unable to predict what conclusion may come. But it was strong and intentional with some wonderful dialogues. I loved the beautiful landscapes from the different seasons. It was actually shot in the New Zealand, Scottland and Luxembarough. There's no expansion in the locations, mainly it sets in and around a farmhouse and very occasionally other than these parts.

The one in the Chris' shoe was amazing. Like usual, Peter Mullan was fantastic and similarly others as well in their short stay. As the story progress, consequently the film characters reshuffled. Even for us, the main character Chris is like crossing through a juncture from the coming-of-age to self-discovery. Displaying the transformation of Chris from a certain period of time was the film's great achievement. Like how a landscape change from the dawn to dust, this woman's life sees the same fate. That's what the title implies.

I don't know this British director, but this film opened a new door to me further to check it out his other works. I don't know either that everybody would like it, but it is really one of the wonderful drama of the 2015 and I recommend it to all, especially if there's no problem for you for a long story told in the slow pace. I hope they make films out of the remaining two books as well.

8/10… Expand

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DawdlingPoet

Nov 27, 2021

This is a fairly bleak film (certainly for just about the first hour) and I don't mean its a continual blood fest or anything but the plot is very much about an atmosphere of sustained threat and violence, with abuse present. There are some scenes which are hard to watch without flinching.This is a fairly bleak film (certainly for just about the first hour) and I don't mean its a continual blood fest or anything but the plot is very much about an atmosphere of sustained threat and violence, with abuse present. There are some scenes which are hard to watch without flinching. There is some interesting dialogue and nice surroundings shown occasionally (I'd have liked to see more of the wheat fields outside and the surrounding land but most of it is set inside a small house (cottage) and the adjoining barn/stable) and the cast do a decent enough job, although I didn't feel there was quite enough in the way of a clear substance to the plot, to set it apart from other similar films. Its certainly not a bad film (indeed I found the main character (Christine) admirable in a way) but it's not especially great or memorable either - just ok.… Expand

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