This film is currently unavailable
Sunflower
Sophia Loren searches for the husband she lost at the Russian Front (Marcello Mastroianni) in this sweeping romance epic with echoes of Doctor Zhivago.
Director: Vittorio De Sica
Overview
Oscar® winner, Sophia Loren (Two Women) and award- winning Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita 8 ½) are newlyweds separated by war who never give up on one another despite almost impossible odds. Mastroianni is the soldier left to die in the snow at the Russian front as of WWII ends. Loren is his bride who, refusing to believe that her ‘Missing In Action’ husband is dead, travels to the sunflower plains of Ukraine – seemingly to the ends of the earth – to search for the man she vowed she would never abandon.
Produced by Loren’s husband, Carlo Ponti, Sunflower recalls the veteran producer's Doctor Zhivago with its rich, wide-vista production of this heartfelt drama of war-torn lovers. Underpinned by Henry Mancini’s Oscar®-nominated rousing score and magnificently directed by one of Italy’s greatest filmmaker, Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves), who taps into his Neorealist roots to depict the human tragedy of war-displaced persons, as seen through the heroic determination of Loren’s character.
At Ponti's insistence, both Loren and Mastroianni spoke English on set to enable the film's wider audience appeal. It's this English-language version that's presented here, as opposed to the Italian-language version in which both stars re-dubbed their dialogue.
Contains moderate sex references and one assault.
Related
The Turin Horse The Turin Horse
Drama 2011 155 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Béla Tarr’s devastating, starkly pared-down final feature, inspired by Nietzsche.
Werckmeister Harmonies Werckmeister Harmonies
Drama 2000 147 mins Director: Béla Tarr
A stuffed whale sparks social apocalypse in this haunting cinematic masterpiece from Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky.
The Man from London The Man from London
Drama 2007 139 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Tilda Swinton stars in this profoundly nocturnal Georges Simenon adaptation.
Pandora's Box Pandora's Box
Drama 1928 134 mins Silent Director: G.W. Pabst
Louise Brooks dazzles as the iconic showgirl who leaves a trail of destruction in her wake, in one of the great silent films of the Weimar era.
Disco Boy Disco Boy
Drama 2023 92 mins Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese
Franz Rogowski (Bird, Passages) is superb as a migrant mercenary with a heart of darkness, in this trippy jungle odyssey.
The Queen of My Dreams The Queen of My Dreams
Comedy 2023 99 mins Director: Fawzia Mirza
Soulful story of the love and war between a queer woman and her mother, spanning across decades and continents.
Power in Our Hands Power in Our Hands
Documentary 2016 75 mins Director: Angela Spielsinger
Ground-breaking documentary that uses archive film to tell the story of the British Deaf community’s fight for civil rights.
Daisies Daisies
Comedy 1966 73 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Two self-confessed hedonists wreak wanton havoc in Věra Chytilová's visually spectacular neo-dadaist farce.
The Frightened Woman The Frightened Woman
Drama 1969 86 mins Director: Piero Schivazappa
A rich sadist kidnaps a woman to subject to his elaborate S&M games, but she soon turns the tables... Piero Schivazappa's erotic thriller explodes with eye-popping psychedelic production design.
Heathers Heathers
Comedy 1989 103 mins Director: Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater star in the endlessly quotable cult black comedy that subverted expectations of teen movies forever.
Something Different Something Different
Drama 1963 81 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's first feature is an important work of women's cinema, which contrasts the parallel stories of a gymnast (filmed as documentary) and a housewife (told as fiction).
Traps Traps
Comedy 1998 116 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's dark, post-communist comedy. After a veterinary surgeon is sexually assaulted by two men, she uses her particular expertise in castraton to exact her revenge…
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.
8½ 8½
Drama 1963 138 mins Director: Federico Fellini
Fellini triumphantly conjured himself out of writer's block with this magnum opus about a film director experiencing his own creative crisis.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.
Bicycle Thieves Bicycle Thieves
Drama 1948 89 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Vittorio De Sica’s story of a father and son searching for a stolen bicycle on the streets of Rome is a classic of post-war Italian cinema.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy 1963 118 mins Director: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.
The Turin Horse The Turin Horse
Drama 2011 155 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Béla Tarr’s devastating, starkly pared-down final feature, inspired by Nietzsche.
Werckmeister Harmonies Werckmeister Harmonies
Drama 2000 147 mins Director: Béla Tarr
A stuffed whale sparks social apocalypse in this haunting cinematic masterpiece from Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky.
The Man from London The Man from London
Drama 2007 139 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Tilda Swinton stars in this profoundly nocturnal Georges Simenon adaptation.
Pandora's Box Pandora's Box
Drama 1928 134 mins Silent Director: G.W. Pabst
Louise Brooks dazzles as the iconic showgirl who leaves a trail of destruction in her wake, in one of the great silent films of the Weimar era.
Code 46 Code 46
Science Fiction 2004 93 mins Director: Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom's cult sci-fi stars Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton as star-crossed lovers in a totalitarian world; set to an intoxicating soundtrack by David Holmes' Free Association.
Disco Boy Disco Boy
Drama 2023 92 mins Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese
Franz Rogowski (Bird, Passages) is superb as a migrant mercenary with a heart of darkness, in this trippy jungle odyssey.