Under the Sun

Name: Under the Sun
Genre: Documentary
Released: July 6, 2016
Duration: 106 min
Rating: 81

2016

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	Your Score
6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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Under The Sun

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Movie Details & Credits

Icarus Films | Release Date: July 6, 2016 | Not Rated

Summary: "My father says that Korea is the most beautiful country... Korea is the land of the rising sun," says eight-year-old schoolgirl Zin-mi. Despite continuous interference by government handlers, director Vitaly Mansky still managed to document life in Pyongyang, North Korea in this fascinating portrait of one girl and her parents in the year"My father says that Korea is the most beautiful country... Korea is the land of the rising sun," says eight-year-old schoolgirl Zin-mi. Despite continuous interference by government handlers, director Vitaly Mansky still managed to document life in Pyongyang, North Korea in this fascinating portrait of one girl and her parents in the year as she prepares to join the Korean Children's Union on the Day Of The Shining Star (Kim Jong-Il's birthday). As the family receives instruction on how to be the ideal patriots, Mansky's watchful camera capture details from comrades struggling to stay awake during an official event to Zin-mi's tears at a particularly grueling dance lesson. [Icarus Films]… Expand

Director: Vitaliy Manskiy

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 106 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Glenn Kenny

Jul 6, 2016

The movie raises disquieting questions, including a few that Mr. Mansky might not have meant to. Read full review

Andrew O'Hehir

Jul 6, 2016

There’s a terrible wonder in this rare glimpse inside a country that has tried to empty itself of all thought, all commerce and all civil society — of pretty much everything except an especially lame version of hero worship and despotism. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Jul 14, 2016

One of the most fascinating things about Under the Sun is the contradictory thoughts it inspires. Read full review

Noel Murray

Jul 6, 2016

The truths revealed in this film have more to do with the North Korean government’s self-consciousness about how they’re perceived by foreigners. Here, they seem desperate to appear productive, congenial, devoted, and above all, happy. Read full review

Dennis Harvey

Jul 6, 2016

While at about the two-thirds mark, Under the Sun begins to seem a bit attenuated, its obvious (if only implied) points already made, the ending is a stunner. Read full review

Farran Smith Nehme

Jul 7, 2016

Hollywood has been yukking it up over North Korea and its comical-looking leader for some years now. There’s nothing funny about either, and Mansky shows why. Read full review

Jesse Cataldo

Jul 6, 2016

Under the Sun's overall aesthetic identifies a willingness to settle for an easy condemnation of an obviously abysmal regime, while not doing anything challenging or enlightening with all the outstanding footage collected. Read full review

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User Reviews

EpicLadySponge

Oct 7, 2016

Usually, it never contains a little surprise that Under the Sun is by far more than what you expected. You just have seen it differently, that's how. Watch this film again and your opinion will probably change. Under the Sun is filled of goodies that you must have already needed to enjoy this movie.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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