The Oscar-winning Son of Saul (’15) convinced me that Laszlo Nemes, 41, is a major-league, heavy-cat director. But I have to be honest and admit that the trailer for his new film, Sunset, has left me with an odd feeling.
Set in 1913, Sunset is about Irisz Leiter (Son of Saul costar Juli Jakab) attempting to work at a Budapest hat store that belonged to her late parents. When the new owner blows her off, Irisz resolves to uncover the buried truth, which apparently has something do with the fate of her missing brother. I’ve watched the trailer twice now, and I’m sorry but it’s just not putting the hook in. There’s something a wee bit “off” and oblique about it.
Indiewire‘s Zack Sharf has written that Sunset “looks like a thrilling historical drama about family identity.” Maybe he knows something I don’t.