A Sun (2019)

Director: Chung Mong-Hong
Stars: Wu Chien-Ho, Chen Yi-wen, Samantha Shu-Chin Ko
Runtime: 156 minutes

Synopsis: A family of four fractures under the weight of unmet expectations, unexpected tragedy, and uncompromising pride.

Verdict: I'm sure most of you have experienced at some point in your lives a feeling of extreme satisfaction upon completing the binging of a really good limited series. This is exactly how I felt when the credits of "A Sun" started rolling.

This Taiwanese crime epic/family drama had me going through all sorts of emotions in its impressive runtime of two and a half hours, which flew by instantly. It follows a myriad of characters, all related in some way or another, as they go through moments of tragedy that they each handle in their own way. Despite some gaining more screentime than others, I never felt detached from any of them, and found myself deeply caring about the journey of growth they go through. All of this was made possible thanks to a watertight script that never resorted to shortcuts despite dealing with such a heavy narrative. Not a second is wasted in what truly was a profound look at the hardships faced by a family poisoned by wrong decisions, captured exceptionally by the phenomenal performances that englobe it as well as its stellar cinematography and score.t

It baffles me that despite its scale and availability on Netflix, "A Sun" didn't receive any buzz at the time of its release and had to rely on Variety's inclusion of the title in its Best of the Year list to generate some talk. It doesn't deserve to hold the status of a hidden gem buried in the depth of a streaming service that one encounters on a lucky day, but it should be allowed to glow like the opal that it is. Don't let this one fly under your radars.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10