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Vertical Ray of the Sun (Vietnamese with English Subtitles) : 7 pm
Set in modern day
Hanoi, Vietnam, THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN is a rich visual banquet
overflowing with lush, artful images that unfold as
the film's enigmatic characters and
relationships develop. Three sisters, Lien (Tran
Nu Yen-Khe),
Khanh (Le Khanh), and
Suong (Nguyen
NhuQuynh ),
and their brother, Hai (Ngo
QuangHai), come together to prepare a
feast in remembrance of their deceased parents. They end up
discovering that they each harbor important
secrets.The two older sisters, Suong
and Khanh
, are both married, one to a novelist and one to a
photographer. Their scenes of dreamy domesticity become more poignant
as the fragility of this bliss--which the sisters try to hide both
from themselves and from each other--is revealed.
Director Tran
AnhHung's first two films, THE SCENT OF
GREEN PAPAYA and CYCLO were also masterful explorations of Vietnamese
life; THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN is perhaps the most elegiac and
serene of the three, weaving a very delicate fabric of relationships
which are as elusive as the dappled, changeable Hanoi sunshine.
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