Under the Sun
Icarus Films | Release Date: July 6, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJul 6, 2016
The movie raises disquieting questions, including a few that Mr. Mansky might not have meant to. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 14, 2016
One of the most fascinating things about Under the Sun is the contradictory thoughts it inspires. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'HehirJul 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
90
Screen DailyWendy IdeJul 6, 2016
What’s more unexpected is just how much Russian documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky is able to reveal despite, and often because of, the stringent restrictions imposed upon him. Read full review
90
The New YorkerRichard BrodyJul 6, 2016
The vision of such severe regimentation is shocking; Zin-mi’s tears of shame and her sharply limited range of knowledge and inhibited behavior embody an outrage. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonJul 6, 2016
Both surreal and sinister, it feels like we are watching a real-life version of The Truman Show. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnJul 6, 2016
Commissioned as propaganda, Under the Sun instead documents life inside its grip. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJul 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
80
VarietyDennis HarveyJul 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
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeJul 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
75
RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireJul 6, 2016
Although unintentionally funny throughout, its evocation of life in a totalitarian society is ultimately chilling. The happy picture the North Koreans struggle to present implies unfathomable depths of violence to the human spirit beneath its glossy surface. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesJohn HartlAug 4, 2016
In the end, it’s all about that little girl and how she responds to the lavish song-and-dance epic designed to praise Korea’s leader, the late Kim Jong-II. Under the Sun may seem slow and hollow at times, but her emotions appear to be quite spontaneous. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJul 15, 2016
It’s shocking and troubling, but it doesn’t add much to the reality we already know cruelly exists. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineJesse CataldoJul 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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