Chattanooga Film Festival Coverage
Daughter of the Sun review.
Daughter of the Sun provides something fresh and otherworldly in a package that feels lived in and real.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Daughter of the Sun
Directed by Ryan Ward
Written by Mackenzie Leight and Ryan Ward
Starring Nyah Perkin, Ryan Ward, Lennox Leacock, Courtney Sawyer, Ryan Giesen, Laura Mac and Cooper Lee Smith
Daughter of the Sun Review
Daughter of the Sun is a sequel to 2009’s Son of Sunshine. I didn’t know that before I watched Daughter of the Sun. I don’t believe that prior knowledge of the original is necessary to enjoy this 15 year later sequel. Son of Sunshine was the story of Sonny (Ryan Ward). You may have guessed that Daughter of the Sun is about his daughter. Well…it’s about both of them.
It’s not often that we see legacy sequels to under the radar independent movies. That should tip you off that Daughter of the Sun is a real passion project for writer/director/star Ryan Ward. Though I don’t know exactly what his character Sonny got up to 15 years ago…I feel comfortable making some assumptions based on Daughter. He is dealing with Tourette syndrome and, believe it or not, superpowers. Well…one superpower based on how the sequel plays out.
Sonny and his daughter Hildie (Nyah Perkin) fall in with a group of outcasts after finding themselves on the run from trouble. Hildie likes it there and makes friends easily. Sonny is less convinced until he meets a boy who has ailments that he understands…and his grateful mother. This new community seems to be the perfect new home. Which means that it isn’t.
Sonny’s power involves bringing the dead back to life. It works, at least, on animals. For as positive as his gift is…his Tourette’s brings on many negatives. The family heads to the road after Sonny is fired for fighting on the job. It isn’t the first time that’s happened. Sonny is an interesting character. He has an involuntary disorder that prevents him from fitting in…and a gift that makes him feel like he doesn’t. It was bad enough when these things brought him trouble…but now they uproot his daughter’s life as well.
Daughter of the Sun feels like a throwback movie. It looks tremendous and features wonderful performances across the board. It takes a long time for the story to turn towards its ultimate destination and it wouldn’t be unfair to call Daughter of the Sun a slow ride to that point. Frankly, not a lot happens. Ward lets the performances and setting take center stage. You know something bad is going to happen…Sonny is established a as a ticking time bomb, after all. But this community embraces his disorder…which, for the first time, lets Hildie feel at home. Sonny’s disorder isn’t going to cost them this time. Unfortunately, his power will.
Daughter of the Sun take a dark turn in the third act. It infuses the story with an energy that had been absent. Ward’s choice to concentrate on character until them pays off with an exciting, tense and emotional payoff.
The characters in Daughter of the Sun feel realistic. Which is extra impressive when you consider that one of them is supernatural in nature. It’s easy to buy that this group of misfits have forged their own community away from the problems they encounter in society. In many ways it is just what Sonny and Hildie are looking for. Until this new society discovers Sonny’s secret. Then it becomes far worse than every other one.
Scare Value
It will take a bit of patience for Daughter of the Sun to get you where you want it to go. But it is better for having taken its time. When their new world falls apart…you don’t just feel for them…you feel with them. It makes all the difference in the world. For a legacy sequel to a movie most will not have seen…Daughter of the Sun provides something fresh and otherworldly in a package that feels lived in and real.
