As father and son argue and reunite every few minutes, accompanied by veeery slow violin music, Sunflower plays less like the epic it aspires to be than an episode of "Full House: Beijing."
Sunflower(向日葵)
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Hong Kong, China, Netherlands · 2005
2h 9m
Director Zhang Yang
Starring Joan Chen, Gao Ge, Wang Haidi, Liang Jing
Genre Drama, Romance
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Sunflower is the story of the Zhang family in Beijing father, mother and son across three decades, centering on the tensions and misunderstandings between father and son. Nine-year-old Xiangyang is having the time of his life, free of adult supervision until the day he meets the father he can hardly remember. Having spent years away, he returns with strong ideas about his son learning to draw. But Xiangyang chafes under his father's constant rules and soon stages his own revolution against the lessons enforced.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
With a commanding performance by Sun Haiying as the unbending, ornery father, and a glammed-down Joan Chen remarkable as the boy's devoted mom, pic serves up solid dramatic values instead of being yet another panorama of social and political changes in China during the late 20th century.
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Like Douglas Sirk without the throw pillows, Sunflower is a shamelessly old-fashioned melodrama performed with such sincerity that resistance is futile.
Users who liked this film also liked
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
(복수는 나의 것)
Blood must be shed after a kidnapping goes wrong.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2002
- Director Park Chan-wook
- Cast Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-kyun, Bae Doo-na, Im Ji-eun, Han Bo-bae, Lee Dae-yeon
- Genre Action, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Hoopla, Metrograph, Vudu, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Getting Home
(落叶归根)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China, Hong Kong • 2007
- Director Zhang Yang
- Cast Zhao Benshan, Qiwen Hong, Song Dandan, Liao Fan, Hu Jun, Guo Degang
- Genre Drama, Comedy
- Available on Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, AsianCrush, Freevee, Cineverse, Plex, Plex Channel
Platform
(站台)
An amateur theater troupe evolves after China's "open door" policy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, China, Japan • 2001
- Director Jia Zhangke
- Cast Zhao Tao, Wang Hongwei, Liang Jingdong, Tian Yi Yang, Wang Bo, Han Sanming
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Barbie
She’s everything. He’s just Ken.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, United Kingdom • 2023
- Director Greta Gerwig
- Cast Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, America Ferrera
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
A Silent Voice: The Movie
(映画 聲の形
)
A high-school boy seeks forgiveness from the deaf girl he bullied in elementary school.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Director Naoko Yamada
- Cast Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yuki, Kensho Ono, Yuki Kaneko, Yui Ishikawa
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Uncut Gems
A fast-talking jeweler risks it all to pay off his debts.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- South Africa, United States • 2019
- Director Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie
- Cast Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Lakeith Stanfield, Idina Menzel, Kevin Garnett, Eric Bogosian
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Hoopla, Showtime Apple TV Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Joker
A failed stand-up comedian is driven insane, turning to a life of crime in chaos in Gotham City.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, United States • 2019
- Director Todd Phillips
- Cast Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham
- Genre Crime, Thriller, Drama
- Available on Hulu, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Parasite
(기생충)
A poor family lies and schemes their way into the employ of a wealthy household — successfully, but with great consequences.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2019
- Director Bong Joon-ho
- Cast Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Another Round
(Druk)
It is time to sweep off the dust of everyday life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands • 2020
- Director Thomas Vinterberg
- Cast Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe, Magnus Millang, Maria Bonnevie, Susse Wold
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, Criterion Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Microsoft Store, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
The Menu
A couple encounters shocking surprises at an exclusive island restaurant.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- • 2022
- Director Mark Mylod
- Cast Emma Stone, Ralph Fiennes
- Genre Comedy, Horror
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Society of the Snow
(La sociedad de la nieve)
Following a plane crash in the heart of the Andes, the survivors become each other's best hope to stay alive.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Uruguay, Spain • 2023
- Director J. A. Bayona
- Cast Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Tomas Wolf, Diego Ariel Vegezzi, Esteban Kukuriczka
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads