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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

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74
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72
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72
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72
Life of Reilly, The
71
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71
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71
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70
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69
Chicago 10
68
Honeydripper
67
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67
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67
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67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
66
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66
Shelter
65
Married Life
64
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64
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63
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63
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63
Body of War
63
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62
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62
Son of Rambow
62
Battle for Haditha
61
Dhamma Brothers, The
61
Girls Rock!
60
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
59
Under the Same Moon
58
First Saturday in May, The
58
Fall, The
58
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58
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58
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57
Flawless
57
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57
Without the King
57
Grand, The
56
Turn the River
56
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55
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55
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55
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52
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50
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35
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35
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32
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20
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From Within
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Under the Sun
Shadow Distribution
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring
Rolf Lassgård,
Helena Bergström,
and
Johan Widerberg
Set in the Swedish countryside in 1956, this is the story of a forty-year-old man living a solitary life on his farm. One day, he places an advertisement searching for a housekeeper, who eventually takes over the household and his heart.
| GENRE(S): |
Romance
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
H.E. Bates (novel The Little Farm)
Johanna Hald
David Neal
Colin Nutley
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Colin Nutley
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: February 17, 2004
Video: February 17, 2004
Theatrical: August 3, 2001
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
118 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Sweden |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
Swedish (with English subtitles) |
Original Swedish title "Under Solen"; Nominated as Best Foreign Language Film at the 72nd Annual Academy Awards

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
88
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Movies like this are not for everyone, but arrive like private messages for their own particular audiences.

80
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
Simple, earnest and workmanlike, it sings of Olof, glad and big, and how he lost his -- well, we can't say what he lost.

80
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Makes a virtue of its own simplicity. But don't be fooled. That simplicity is mere cover. You're kept wondering about the outcome until the very end.

80
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
Casts a lovely spell, as warm and seductive as its summertime setting.

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
This modest drama is the art-house equivalent of comfort food: satisfying in its familiarity.

75
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
Swedish cinema has been famous for a number of things: beautiful actresses, fine sexy psychological dramas, natural settings, cinematic bawdiness and a touch of melancholy. Under the Sun fits that profile well.

75
Miami Herald
Marta Barber
Under the Sun doesn't intend to be dramatic, much less melodramatic. This beautiful film just wants to capture life's simplicity.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Edward Guthmann
A charming, finely nuanced romance.

70
New Times (L.A.)
Gregory Weinkauf
Gentle and gorgeous, honoring atmosphere over attitude.

70
TV Guide
Ken Fox
A touching coming-of-age story from Sweden, made interesting by the fact that the protagonist is a lonely, middle-aged farmer rather than an adolescent.

63
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
Ultimately, it's the casting and the story that are too good to be true. If a newspaper's classified ad section could document a success like this one, there would never be a slump.

60
Variety
Gunnar Rehlin
A celebration of traditional, detailed filmmaking.

50
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
The performances are likable and there's nothing really wrong with the story -- other than the fact that Nutley hardly has any story to tell.

50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
Sugary but well-acted little emotional button-presser.

50
Village Voice
Jessica Winter
The kind of quotidian pastoral -- about a simple, honest peasant who finds the greatest love of all -- that the Academy invariably finds irresistible.

50
Chicago Reader
Staff (Not Credited)
All three lead actors are adroit; but the story, adapted from a short story by H.E. Bates, is both contrived and not very well told.

30
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
It has the melancholy mildew of both "Marty" and the 1940's weepie "The Enchanted Cottage."

30
LA Weekly
Mark Olsen
Try as they might, the two central performers can never overcome the film's underdeveloped core, and are left flailing about amid Nutley's listless, glacial pacing.


The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
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