04/02/2005

There is a very rare product in Berlin this year, an Italo-Russian coproduction, also involving France and Switzerland. This film is Solnze (The Sun) by Aleksandr Sokurov, final episode of a trilogy on the notion of power — after Moloch and Taurus. After dealing with Hitler and Stalin, the Russian director now presents a psychological study of another key figure in the 20th Century: the Japonese emperor Hirohito.
This film by the director of The Russian Arch was selected for this year's official competition. Different Italian producers joined their efforts to support it: Marco Müller (Downtown Pictures), Rai Cinema and the Istituto Luce. According to Müller, already involved in the production of Moloch, making this movie together was like resuming an old friendship and collaboration: "A crucial phase for us is coming to an end, and it means a lot to me to be here now together Aleksandr Sokurov, one of the greatest artist in contemporary cinema. After the success of Tropical Disease (Sud Pralad), Jury's Special choice 2004 in Cannes, our company is now presenting another film which ventures into depths and concerns far from the superficial things we sometimes see on the screen".

(Translated from Italian)