81
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyThe movie raises disquieting questions, including a few that Mr. Mansky might not have meant to.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonThe Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonBoth surreal and sinister, it feels like we are watching a real-life version of The Truman Show.
- 90The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyThe vision of such severe regimentation is shocking; Zin-mi’s tears of shame and her sharply limited range of knowledge and inhibited behavior embody an outrage.
- 90SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirThere’s a terrible wonder in this rare glimpse inside a country that has tried to empty itself of all thought, all commerce and all civil society — of pretty much everything except an especially lame version of hero worship and despotism.
- 90Screen DailyWendy IdeScreen DailyWendy IdeWhat’s more unexpected is just how much Russian documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky is able to reveal despite, and often because of, the stringent restrictions imposed upon him.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe truths revealed in this film have more to do with the North Korean government’s self-consciousness about how they’re perceived by foreigners. Here, they seem desperate to appear productive, congenial, devoted, and above all, happy.
- 80VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyWhile at about the two-thirds mark, Under the Sun begins to seem a bit attenuated, its obvious (if only implied) points already made, the ending is a stunner.
- 75RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireRogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireAlthough unintentionally funny throughout, its evocation of life in a totalitarian society is ultimately chilling. The happy picture the North Koreans struggle to present implies unfathomable depths of violence to the human spirit beneath its glossy surface.
- 50Slant MagazineJesse CataldoSlant MagazineJesse CataldoUnder the Sun's overall aesthetic identifies a willingness to settle for an easy condemnation of an obviously abysmal regime, while not doing anything challenging or enlightening with all the outstanding footage collected.