The Vertical Ray of the Sun

A visually luminous, intimate portrait of three sisters navigating love and family in Hanoi, built on sensory beauty and quiet emotional depth.

Hanoi comes across almost picture-perfect in director Tran Anh Hung's beautiful, elegiac tale about the lives and loves of three Vietnamese sisters. A mood characteristic of Hung's films is set early on with the vivid sounds of birds, insects and water and the way the lighting enhances the subtle use of color. They all combine to gem-like effect here.