''Sophie and the Rising Sun'' is a 2016 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by

Maggie Greenwald Maggie Greenwald is an American filmmaker. Most recognized as an independent writer and director, Greenwald’s most notable films include ''Sophie and the Rising Sun'' (2016), starring an ensemble cast that included Margo Martindale, Julianne N ...

. It is based on the 2001 novel ''

Sophie and the Rising Sun ''Sophie and the Rising Sun'' is a novel written by American author Augusta Trobaugh. It was published in 2001 by publishing company Dutton Penguin, Dutton. The novel was well received, especially throughout the southern states of America. It is ...

'' by Augusta Trobaugh. The film stars

Julianne Nicholson Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' August: Osage County'' (2013) and '' Blonde'' (2022), as well as the television series '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2009) ...

, Takashi Yamaguchi,

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...

, Diane Ladd,

Lorraine Toussaint Lorraine Toussaint () is a Trinidadian-American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Toussaint began her career in theatre before ...

and Karen Wheeling Reynolds. It was released in theaters on January 25, 2017 by Monterey Media.

Plot

Set in the autumn of 1941 in Salty Creek, a willowy fishing village in South Carolina, the film tells the compelling story of two interracial lovers, Sophie, an artist who also fishes and sells crabs to the townsfolk, the other an Asian gentleman, swept up in the tides of history. As World War II rages in Europe, Mr. Ohta appears in the town badly beaten and under mysterious circumstances. Sophie, a native of Salty Creek, quickly becomes transfixed by Mr. Ohta and a friendship born of their mutual love of art blossoms into a delicate and forbidden courtship. As their secret relationship evolves the war escalates tragically. And when Pearl Harbor is bombed, a surge of misguided patriotism, bigotry and violence sweeps through the town, threatening Mr. Ohta's life. A trio of women, each with her own secrets – Sophie, along with the town matriarch and her housekeeper – rejects law and propriety, risking their lives with their actions.

Cast

as Sophie Willis * Takashi Yamaguchi as Grover Ohta *

as Anne Morrison * Diane Ladd as Ruth Jeffers *

as Salome Whitmore *Karen Wheeling Reynolds as Isabel *Mickey Dodge as Samille *Don Henderson Baker as Dr. Gilbert *

Joel Murray Joel Murray (born April 17, 1963) is an American comedy actor. He is well known for his roles in the television series ''Mad Men'', ''Grand'', '' Love & War'', '' Dharma & Greg'', '' Still Standing'', and '' Shameless''. He has also appeared in ...

as Sheriff Cooper *David Dickson Reynolds as Reverend Jeffers *Kenneth Charles Graham as Harold Jackson *Sabrina Mayfield as Matilda *Jan Hartsell as Minna *Cali Ward as Young Sophie *Ebony McCormick as Young Salome *Meredith Jackson as Young Ruth *Antonio Roberts as Zachary *Colie McClellan as Young Anne *Ben VanderMey as Soldier *Harrison Shaw as Young Johnny

Release

The film premiered at the

2016 Sundance Film Festival The 2016 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 21 to January 31, 2016. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 2, 2015. The opening night film was ''Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You'', directed by Heidi E ...

on January 22, 2016. The film was released on January 25, 2017.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 11 reviews and an average rating of 4.5/10. As of September, 2019, There is no critical consensus yet. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* {{Maggie Greenwald 2016 films 2016 drama films 2010s English-language films American drama films Films about interracial romance Films based on American novels Films based on romance novels Films directed by Maggie Greenwald Films scored by David Mansfield Films set in South Carolina 2010s American films