Sunshine Family

Sunshine Family's production and aesthetic involves a lot of international intersections. The film has a Filipino cast headlined by powerhouse acting couple Shamaine and Nonie Buencamino. It has a Korean director best known for directing dramas about taxi drivers (not the one you expect, probably.) It's a story based on a 1992 Japanese film. And, the promotional materials seem to be referencing an American indie darling also with Sunshine in the title. The end result? Something unique and quirky, though not perfect.

When breadwinner Don (Nonie Buencamino) accidentally runs over a woman after a drunken night out, his wife Sonya (Shamaine Buencamino) decides to hide the incriminating car inside their house and dispose of it piece by piece. But there are curious neighbors and other problems in the family that need to be addressed as well.

The film skips out on a lot of exposition, rushing its way through its first third and beginning as if it started in medias res. This leads to a lot of missed character development, and certain emotional scenes later on fail to land because of this. We get only the slightest background on husband and wife, and the two children (played by Marco Masa and Sue Ramirez) fare a bit worse, with their own side stories relegated to relatively inconsequential storylines. Anyone looking for any deeper examination of this particular family unit will not find anything substantial, but the film does teach a few lessons about acceptance and family solidarity, in that a family is always stronger together.

Thankfully, things pick up during the second half and there is enough charm and quirk to wash away the failings of the first half. The film is genuinely funny, and from an entertainment standpoint the film delivers in spades. It's also a treat to see the Buencaminos act together in a husband and wife role - as their already strong acting chops are augmented by their natural chemistry as a real life couple.

Sunshine Family is a fun, entertaining experiment, and a cross cultural project that deserves attention. It manages to pull together all its diverse artistic talent to create something unique in the landscape of local cinema.