SUNSHINE (2024) Review
Directed by Antoinette Jadaone
Let me start by saying that ‘Sunshine’ is a heavy film. You won’t see any sugar coating here, you won’t see Maris Racal glamorized or being careful with her looks. But I’m not saying that there’s no silver lining or light beyond the darkness here. Maris Racal will take us to the worst of being a young woman in the Philippines – not just the injustices by the people around Sunshine, but also the injustices of the system that fails to help its citizens in dire need of help.
It’s hard to put Sunshine into words. The movie-watching experience feels personal, maybe even more so if you’re a Filipino and a woman. Imagine a talented person with a lot of potential, fulfilling her duties as a student, a girlfriend, an athlete, a sister, an aunt, and a citizen. Even if she tires herself and has her battery depleted, she continues to be the person society wants her to be. But in her lowest moment in life, she feels alone; she feels like the world has abandoned her and decides to make things worse every day.
The film unravels not only personal issues with Sunshine’s family, her school, her partner, or her workplace, but also a systemic problem of our nation’s health care, and how our first instinct as females who get pregnant at a young age is to throw stones and judge them because of their choices, even with the knowledge that getting pregnant also involves men.
The flow of the story felt organic, and story arcs were properly put together to make the emotions high at the right time. I love how writer and director Antoinette Jadaone opens Pandora’s Box with Sunshine’s situation. Because it shows how a lack of compassion and a better system can drive someone to their worst decisions, and how people react to her situation can either help or break a person.
I’ve seen advocacy films that feel like exploitation or cheap pandering, but ‘Sunshine’ doesn’t look and feel like that. It’s a story that’s worth spending your time and money on. The story may be heavy, but the Filipino spirit in Sunshine makes it lighter and inspires the audience to fight for their lives and their dreams.
Not only are the characters acting in the movie, but the film’s setting gives the impression of bystanders, of those who don’t care enough to do something. I was at times guilty like those who just stand and watch while injustices are happening. ‘Sunshine’ made me want to do more and be more for others.
This is perhaps Antoinette Jadaone’s best work. Focused, well-written and well-directed. You know the intentions of the characters; there are no unnecessary elements to push the narrative, and you can see the story’s message clearly.
The film has at least three best scenes in Philippine cinema in recent memory. Haunting, thought-provoking and just outstanding. Maris Racal gives the performance of a lifetime, making ‘Sunshine’ one of the most important films of all time and her character, Sunshine, one of the most important characters in Philippine cinema.
5 OUT OF 5 STARS
‘Sunshine’ opens exclusively at SM Cinemas starting July 23 from Project 8 Projects, Anima, Happy Infinite Productions and Cloudy Duck Pictures. Rated R-16 by the MTRCB. #SunshineMovie