Sunlight (Syaran film)
| Sunlight Сончева светлина | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Silvije Križanić |
| Screenplay by | Blasko Kralevski |
| Story by | Bogomil Ludmilov Manevski |
| Produced by | Khorodig Horozian |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Lala Andreyeva Boicheva |
| Edited by | Kiro Kosovich |
Production company | Sky High Productions |
| Distributed by | Impact Studios |
Release date | 8 July 2021 |
Running time | 133 minutes |
| Country | Syara |
| Language | Syaran |
| Budget | $55 million |
| Box office | $414 million |
Sunlight is a 2021 Syaran science-fiction apocalyptic drama film directed by Silvije Križanić and starring Tanya Davidova and Pavel Petrov Dimitrov. The plot centers around the passengers and crew of a commercial airliner who attempt to avoid a disaster scenario where nightfall has become lethal to humanity. The film was released on 8 July 2021 and received mostly positive reviews and was a box-office success.
Cast
- Tanya Davidova as Anita
- Pavel Petrov Dimitrov as Pyotr
- Viktor Aničić as Dominik
- Natalija Biondić as Oana
- Celeste Rispoli as Eva
- Enimia Pecha as Jana
Plot
Anita, a struggling musician, tries to put her life back together after discovering her fiance has been cheating on her with her former best friend. Despondent and unable to write any new songs, she decides to take a trip to Gylias to visit the music scene there for inspiration. She arrives at Zovahr International Airport at noon to board a flight with Royal Cacertian Air Carriers. While preparing to board, Anita and the other passengers in the terminal notice unusual images from eastern Eracura and Siduri on television screens throughout the airport. Syaran military personnel suddenly swarm the airport and order everyone in the airport onto the nearest available plane. Protests and confusion are met at gunpoint as the soldiers forcibly order each aircraft to immediately take off upon fully loaded and head west. Demands for explanations are met only with the phrase "Avoid the dusk; stay in the light".
Anita is forced aboard her flight full of confused and frightened Cacertian tourists as the plane prepares to hastily disembark. Just as they are about to leave, a Syaran solider named Pyotr climbs aboard. As the plane takes off under the command of Captain Dominik, the passengers look out the windows to see Zovahr descending into chaos and airplanes departing from nearly every available airfield, all of them heading west. The passengers realize Pyotr is a soldier and demand he inform them of what is happening. Pyotr tells them he isn't sure, only that they were suddenly mustered out of their barracks and ordered to evacuate and head west because something happens at nightfall that is lethal to humans. In the air, Dominik realizes that they don't have enough fuel to make it across the Nuadan and heads for Æþurheim.
The plane lands in Vanfald to find the city in a state of confusion, as only the Æþurian military is aware of the impending disaster. Vanfald agrees to let the plane refuel, but only enough to get them to Ossoria. While waiting for the refueling, the passengers learn that as nightfall descends on Tyran, entire populations are wiped out for unknown reasons. It is theorized that the reason has something to do with high intensity radiation, which leads the Æþurian government to order what population it can support into bunkers in hopes of waiting out the disaster. Just as the plane is preparing to depart, an Æþurian scientist named Jana forces herself onboard at gunpoint. In hysterics, she reveals that she had been studying the event and knew the cause; a local star has gone supernova and has released incredibly high levels of radiation that are lethal to living things. The sun's natural ultra-violet radiation dissipates the high intensity radiation (called H-Rays, or Hel Rays by Jana), but at night when the world turns away from the sun, those parts are exposed. Jana reveals that the Æþurian plan will not work only in exceptional cases, as most bunkers are not designed to withstand H-Rays. She further explains that the radiation storm is expected to last around a week, and they must avoid night time during that time.
Oana, a health care worker from Iani, protests that the plane must try to evacuate as many people as possible, but the rest of the crew and passengers disagree. As they are debating however, the local populace who have not been able to get into military bunkers storm the airport, and rifle fire from the crowd damages the plane. As a result Dominik must fly the plane a lower altitude, which decreases their fuel efficiency. Dominik informs the passengers that as a result, they will not have enough fuel to cross the Nuadan as they intended. The passengers debate what to do and conclude they must acquire another airplane. As the plane approaches Ossorian airspace however the flight is refused permission to land, as the Ossorian airports and air fields are all full of evacuations. Dominik ignores the order and attempts to land, but without enough space is forced to crash land in an empty field near Doire. Dominik is killed in the crash, while Pyotr takes the survivors out towards the nearest airport. Eva, a Cacertian recreational pilot and glider, is persuaded to take over as pilot, but warns them that she is not experienced with flying large jet liners, but no other aircraft will have the fuel capacity to cross the Nuadan.
The passengers attempt to reach Doire airport but are captured by Ossorian soldiers. Most of the group are dispersed, leaving only Anita, Pyotr, Jana, Oana, Eva, and a handful of Cacertian tourists. Eva tries to persuade the Ossorian Captain to let them onboard a plane as she can pilot one, but Eva is then taken to a separate aircraft while the rest are ordered to remain behind. As they are about to be led away, Jana shoots and kills two Ossorian soldiers before she is shot dead; Pyotr take advantage of the situation to sneak the rest of the group away and onto the airport. Eva notices the group approaching and delays take off long enough for them to board, then abruptly takes off with permission. The groups' elation is cut short by the realization by Eva that the plane was not completely refueled and will not be enough to cross the Nuadan. Anita, who's ex-fiance worked in telecommunications, recalls him explaining at one point about the north pole's magnetic field and suggests flying north instead of west, taking advantage of the curvature of the world to stay in daylight. Eva can't confirm whether they would have enough fuel to do so, but agree that its their only remaining option.
The plane heads north and reaches the pole, remaining in daylight thanks to the tilt and curvature of the world before flying towards Delkora to refuel there. The plane lands in the late morning to discover that nearly everyone has died during night fall, leading Oana to have a breakdown. The plane refuels and flies to Acrea, but upon hearing radio transmissions coming from Baden realize some people have survived. Eva agrees to land, but debris on the airfield from a prior plane crash damages the engines and leaves their own plane useless. Acrean soldiers suddenly appear in vehicles, revealing that a government bunker located nearby is shielded against H-Rays. The Acreans however are reluctant to take all of them, especially several elder Cacertian tourists whom the Acreans don't have enough supplies to feed. Oana refuses to abandon the elderly and stays behind while the rest drive off to the bunker.
The survivors reach the bunker and discover only a few Acrean government officials have survived, while most of the populations of both Siduri and Eracura are dead, with fatalities estimated at 99% of the population of Tyran. The only survivors are a handful of passenger and military planes, submarines, and a select few fortified bunkers scattered across the world. Anita, Pyotr, and Eva take up odd jobs in the bunker, and after a few days grow depressed with the realization that everyone they know and love is gone. A week passes but the Acreans are unsure if it remains safe to go outside, as they have no way of knowing for sure if the radiation is gone. Anita, solemn and feeling lost after the events of the past week, offers to go out and wait for nightfall. Pyotr and Eva try to convince her not to, but the Acreans agree and she departs at noon.
Anita takes a radio and makes her way to a nearby town as the sun starts to descend. She finds a guitar and decides to spend what may be the last few moments of her life playing an instrument. From the bunker, the Acreans, Pyotr, and Eva watch on cameras as the sun recedes and night falls. After a few tense moments, the sound of a guitar being strummed is heard over the radio.
Reception
Sunlight received mostly positive reviews, with the online movie database TyranFilms.com giving it four-out-of-five stars. Syaran critic Gordan Stilinović described Sunlight as "a tense, unnerving thriller with a strong cosmopolitan sense that does a good job of making you ignore how stupid the actual science sounds". The film grossed $414 million on a $55 million budget and was considered a commercial success.