BEHIND THE SUN takes place in 1910, in the small town of Stream-of-Souls, Brazil, where two families have been engaged in a long battle for control of what appears to be nearly barren land. The Breves clan--mother, father, 20-year-old Tonio, and little Pacu (called the kid), are a poor family struggling to make it with their small sugarcane mill that has outlived its usefulness. In front of their house, a bloodied shirt swings in the breeze, the sun slowly fading the red stain surrounding a hole. When the bloodstain turns yellow, Tonio sets out to hunt down the Ferreira brother who killed the eldest Breves child, Inácio. The chase scene through the forest is stunningly shot by cinematographer Waler Carvalho. After Tonio accomplishes his mission, it becomes his turn to wait for the bloodied Ferreira shirt to turn yellow, after which the next-in-line Ferreira brother will come after him.

Walter Salles, whose previous film was the touching CENTRAL STATION, has brilliantly adapted Ismaïl Kadaré's book BROKEN APRIL, moving the blood feud to Brazil from Albania. The futility of the family battle is made clear through beautiful shots of the vast desert landscape that physically separates the two families as their next generation perishes one by one. Rodrigo Santoro, a captivating cross between Keanu Reeves and Edward Burns, is excellent as Tonio, who tries to seek peace and love before his time is up, but the film belongs to young Ravi Ramos Vasconcelos, who, as Pacu--the kid--narrates the film and is the centerpoint of the story. It is through his eyes that the story is told, and the result is both magnificent and horrific.

Theatrical release: December 21, 2001 (NY/LA)

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio:
TBD
Additional Release Material:
Trailers
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus

Distributor Notes: Behind The Sun

Golden Globe Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, BEHIND THE SUN is a critically acclaimed story about love, loyalty, and the choice a son must make between honoring his family and following his heart. In the brutal Brazilian badlands of 1910, two families are locked in a bloody, generations-old feud. In one family, the oldest remaining son, distressed by the prospect of death and encouraged by his younger brother -- begins to question the cycle of violence. Then a beautiful young woman crosses his path and opens his eyes to life outside his culture's rigid code of honor. Stunningly photographed and exquisitely told, this outstanding motion picture masterpiece will transport you to a vastly different place and time ... a place somewhere "behind the sun"!

Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

José Dumont: Actor, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)
Rodrigo Santoro: Actor, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)
Rita Assemany: Actress, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)
Luis Carlos Vasconcelos: Brazilian Actor, ME YOU THEM (2001)
Ravi Ramos Lacerda: Actress, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)
Flavia Marco Antonio: Actor, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)
Everaldo Pontes: Actor, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)
Othon Bastos: Actor, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)

Walter Salles: Director, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

Arthur Cohn: Swiss Producer

Walter Salles: Director, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
Karim Aïnouz: Screenwriter, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)
Sérgio Machado: Screenwriter, BEHIND THE SUN (2001)

Antonio Pinto: Star, JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE NIGHT (2006)

"...A tragedy shot through with moments of blinding brilliance, BEHIND THE SUN is a beautiful parable....Salles ensures that audiences will go away optimistic -- a true gift indeed..."
"...What elevates BEHIND THE SUN is the arresting assurance of its direction..."
"...A rich, heady melodrama whose message has a poignant relevance in these uncertain times..."
"...Salles has craft, empathy, and a ravishing eye..."