The Best Old Movies on a Big Screen This Week: NYC Repertory Cinema Picks, August 24-30
The Sun (2005)
Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov
The Sun, a dim-lit film about the end of things, came last in Sokurov’s power trilogy (also comprising Moloch, about Hitler, and Taurus, about Lenin, and later followed by Faust, a coda). World War II is either ending or already over: Sokurov’s collaging of real events makes it unclear. The reigning Emperor of Japan, Hirohito (Issey Ogata), must do what he can to salvage a peace for his people—but given the Americans’ presence and omnipotence, this may not be much. Holed up with his servants, the Emperor studies photo albums of Chaplin and Hitler, dictates his memoirs, displays a nervous habit of silent whispering, and dreams of fishes. Trapped in but not resentful of his hereditary role, he is neither totally responsible for, nor innocent of, Japan’s wartime actions. Sokurov’s concern here is with an antiquated vessel of power, rather than power’s amassment or its uses, and the aesthetic of dimness is pervasive. As is often the case in his work, each new location—meticulously designed, decorated, and composed—appears self-contained, a world unto itself in a near-lightless universe. Elina Mishuris (August 26, 7:30pm; August 31, 10pm as part of Sokurov’s power trilogy, at Spectacle)