Reviews from VARIETY and HOLLYWOOD REPORTER and SCREEN DAILY

If Emir Kusturica ever made a pic in China, it would look a little like Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises." Highly colored ride through landscape, love and history will prove murder for many and manna for a few, depending on individual tolerance for cranked-up visuals and acting, as well as knowledge of the niceties of 20th-century Maoist history. Part ego-trip by actor-director Jiang -- but also a genuine effort to push the envelope of Mainland cinema away from bloodless art movies -- "Sun" looks to shine only fleetingly in occidental territories without major critical support and good word-of-mouth.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934574.html?categoryid=31&cs=1

Bottom Line: Eye-catching fantasy about love and dreams in China.

Besides being wonderful to look at, "The Sun Also Rises" is great fun, with sure-handed performances and an especially spry one by Zhuo as the addled mother. Joe Hisaishi's variegated score adds to the entertainment.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=9723

Five years in preparation and three years in the making, Jiang Wen's explosively energetic third feature film is a feast for the eyes and a delight for the ears. But at the same time this may prove a perplexing, often infuriating experience for Western audiences, faced with a rambling narrative and a dreamlike logic clear only to the director himself.

http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=34336