Sunset(2019)

Sony Pictures Classics

R
2h 22m
- Drama
- History

Release Date: Mar 22, 2019 | Limited

A young girl grows up to become a strong and fearless woman in Budapest before World War I.

Official Website

Releases

Original Release | Mar 22, 2019

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$13,846
Total US & Canada:
$164,906
Total International
$918,393
Total Worldwide:
$1,083,299

Current Showtimes

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(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

László Nemes
Director

Carrie Anne Hunt
Actor

Gallery

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: Hungary,France

Language: Hungarian,German

Summaries

Plot Summary

Írisz Leiter's family had an upscale milliner's boutique in Budapest, but her parents were killed in an unspecified accident when she was 2 years old. In 1913, after living in Trieste, Írisz arrives back to Budapest as an adult and tries and finally manages to gain employment as a milliner in the Leiter boutique, now run by Mr. Brill. Írisz quickly finds out (after a mad coachman called Gaspar breaks into her room at night) that she has an elder brother called Kálmán, who is in hiding and is wanted for the murder of an aristocrat, one Count Rédey. No one is eager to talk about Kálmán in the boutique because the murder scandal is obviously bad for business. A mysterious bearded man also approaches Irisz on the street and tells her to forget about Kálmán and leave Budapest. Still determined to find out more, Írisz visits the widowed Countess Rédey who is an opium addict and is abused and manipulated by the sadistic Viennese aristocrat von König, an acquaintance of Mr. Brill. She deduces that Count Rédey was also abusive towards the Countess and Kálmán probably killed him for a reason.Then Írisz tracks down the coachman Gaspar to a factory complex on the outskirts of the city and in addition to Gaspar, finds a gang of anarchists having a meeting nearby. Although she doesn't manage to get in to their club as it is for men only, it is revealed that the anarchists are led by her brother Kálmán (who was the mysterious bearded man she saw earlier) and are planning to raid the Rédey estate during a party to kill or capture von König. As the anarchists take off in horse coaches Írisz goes to the Rédey estate where the attack soon commences. However, the anarchists mainly concentrate on robbing people's jewelry and harassing women. Kálmán enters the upper floors of the palace brandishing a Mauser pistol but accidentally shoots the Countess instead of von König, who escapes easily. Kálmán sees Írisz and takes her back to his hideout on an island, tells her that Mr. Brill is soliciting his female employees for sadistic purposes for the upper class and forbids her to leave. Early in the morning she however steals a rowing boat and escapes. Kálmán swims after her but she hits him with an oar, knocking him unconscious and presumably causing him to drown.In the Leiter boutique, the 30th anniversary celebrations for the boutique are under way and even the Princess of the Imperial Family (Zita of Bourbon-Parma, presumably) visits the store. Not trusting her brother, Írisz goes back to the boutique and warns Mr. Brill that the anarchists are probably going to attack the boutique next, that she saw the massacre at the Rédey estate and that she accidentally killed Kálmán. Brill dispatches private detectives to apprehend the anarchists and protect the boutique and the celebrations. Írisz hears that Brill will be organizing a ball in which one his female workers will be chosen for work in the Imperial Court in Vienna. She also learns that other girls from the boutique have been chosen for such work throughout the years and their fate may be more sinister. She finds one of them, Fanni, living in a poorhouse in Budapest, with her face disfigured. Írisz also catches a glimpse of her brother (imaginary or not), who is alive and well, in a fun fair and becomes disconcerted.Brill forbids Írisz to attend the ball and she is thrown out when she tries to sneak in. Unsuprisingly, the sadistic von König is among the aristocrats attending the ball. Next morning it is revealed that the boutique's supervisor, Miss Zelma, has been chosen and is about to leave. Írisz gets into the coach waiting for Zelma in her stead and is driven to a palace, alongside the hats ordered by the Princess earlier. There, the Imperial Prince (future Charles I of Austria, no doubt) waits for her with various aristocrats. For some reason, they are all barefooted. Suddenly the men start to act strangely and harass Írisz and after a servant opens a door to a dark chamber and proclaims it is "time to start", Írisz tries to escape. She is apprehended but in the meantime Mr. Brill and Zelma have also arrived to the palace and explain the mix-up. Brill takes Írisz back to the boutique with him and leaves Zelma for the perverted aristocrats. Brill is furious and tells Írisz, who tries to confront him, that she must leave the next day, after the final night of celebrations. Írisz learns that the anarchists are on the move and escapes her room dressed as a man. She goes back to anarchists' club near the factory and is let in this time but the anarchists are already leaving, armed to the teeth. She boards the coach of Kálmán's anarchist associate who doesn't answer when she asks him if Kálmán is alive or not. When they arrive at the boutique it is already on fire and rioting goes on all around them. Írisz sees Mr. Brill upstairs and enters the boutique, where von König threatens her with a pistol, only to be shot by someone. Upstairs, she hears someone running off and when she finds Mr. Brill, he is already dead. She looks out of window and the anarchists cheer at her, chanting "Leiter! Leiter! Leiter!". She walks out of the burning building.In the last scene, the camera moves along a trench filled with Austro-Hungarian soldiers in one long take. Amongst them in the trench is Írisz Leiter, as a nurse.

Storyline

1913, Budapest, in the heart of Europe. The young Irisz Leiter arrives in the Hungarian capital with high hopes to work as a milliner at the legendary hat store that belonged to her late parents. She is nonetheless sent away by the new owner, Oszkár Brill. While preparations are under way at the Leiter hat store, to host guests of uttermost importance, a man abruptly comes to Irisz, looking for a certain Kálmán Leiter. Refusing to leave the city, the young woman follows Kálmán's tracks, her only link to a lost past. Her quest brings her through the dark streets of Budapest, where only the Leiter hat store shines, into the turmoil of a civilization on the eve of its downfall. Set in Budapest in 1913, when the city was considered to be at the heart of Europe. 20-year-old Irisz Leiter (Juli), arrives in the Hungarian capital after spending her younger years in an orphanage, hoping to work as a milliner in the legendary hat store that belonged to her late parents. She is suddenly confronted with her past and starts searching for answers about her family before stumbling upon dark secrets.