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.
- 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.