The Sunlit Night

The Sunlit Night
Film poster
Directed by	David Wnendt
Written by	Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
Based on	The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
Produced by	Fabian Gasmia Ruben Thorkildsen Jenny Slate Gabrielle Nadig Michael B. Clark Alex Turtletaub
Starring	Jenny Slate Alex Sharp Fridtjov Såheim David Paymer Gillian Anderson Zach Galifianakis
Cinematography	Martin Ahlgren
Edited by	Andreas Wodraschke
Music by	Enis Rotthoff
Production companies	Beachside Films DETAiLFILM Ape&Bjørn
Distributed by	Quiver Distribution
Release dates	January 26, 2019 (2019-01-26) (Sundance) July 17, 2020 (2020-07-17) (United States)
Running time	106 minutes
Countries	United States Germany Norway
Language	English

The Sunlit Night is a 2019 romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Wnendt, from a screenplay by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight, based on her 2015 novel of the same name. It stars Jenny Slate (who also co-produced) as a New York painter finding herself on assignment in a remote village in Norway, with Alex Sharp, Fridtjov Såheim, David Paymer, Gillian Anderson, and Zach Galifianakis in supporting roles.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019, and was released on digital and VOD on July 17, 2020, by Quiver Distribution.

Premise[]

The Sunlit Night follows "American painter Frances and émigré Yasha — an unlikely pair who find each other in the Arctic circle. Frances has arrived to jumpstart her career while Yasha has come to bury his father in the land of the Vikings. Together under a sun that never quite sets, they let go of the past and discover the future, and family, they didn’t know they had."^[1]

Plot[]

Frances in the opening scene begins with some art evaluators evaluating her work rather harshly. She is soon shown as breaking up with her boyfriend. She returns to her parent's apartment who are also painters & artists. Her mother does interior textiles for wealthy people while her dad illustrates medical books.

She informs her sister that she showed up unannounced from the lake house of her boyfriend because she has broken up with him. Her parents are also told of the bad news and her mom notices that Frances has a leech attached to her posterior. While the mother removes the leech from the "best posterior in NY" Frances gets a text informing her that her residency in Tokyo went to another artist & not her. The dad & other daughter set up the table. During the meal Frances' sister announces that she is getting married. Her father announces that he and their mother are separating. There is an awkward silence as the rejoicing over the other sister's marriage is cut short. Her father explains that he does not approve of the choice of husband made by Gabby (Frances' sister).

He takes Frances to his working area and allots her a small space to work while he tells Frances that he is afraid how Gabby will take care of herself. Frances tells her that Gabby will be fine because she is in law school.

Frances is next seen speaking to a career counselor who informs her that she is being placed with an artist Nils Auerman in Norway (a remote part in the North of Norway "Not Oslo").

Frances arrives in Norway to be picked up by a taciturn and irritable Nils while Frances showers him with praise & admires the land comparing it to a painting. The two of them drive to her residence which is a trailer parked by the water. The bathroom & shower are in the house near the trailer. The first night she cannot sleep because the sun is always up & the curtains are not thick enough.

The next day she is taken to work on a barn which is she is supposed to paint with Nils. She watches with anticipation as the car passes by a "Viking Village" but the drive pass the locals, the Viking museum & archers practicing archery to an old barn which is in the process of being painted yellow. Nils constantly discourages her enthusiasm by telling her not to use the word "amazing" to describe the "hard work" ahead of her. She is given instructions to paint the interior of the barn while Nils paints the exterior. She assumes it is paint by numbers and begins working.

She goes to the grocery store to shop and notices a grocery clerk who reminds her of a goddess from the Renaissance paintings of the past. She is shocked that the clerk is working behind the freezer stacking dairy products onto the shelves. She tries talking to her but she gets an indifferent stare so she continues with her shopping. Nils invites her to dinner & makes her a dinner with fish. When she returns to her room she notices that there are goats around her trailer and one of the goats has entered her room & is become her pet.

The next day she notices Yasha walking by the side of the road & asks Nils to stop & pick him up but Nils refuses & wants to go directly to work. At work when she asks Nils when and where she can paint her own works Nils says that it won't be possible because they will be working from 7 to 7.

One day she notices some people practicing archery & she visits the locals engaged in medieval arts like coloring yarn & making ancient weapons and armor. She visits the museums and meets Haldor a gentleman from Cincinnati who takes the Viking lifestyle very seriously and thinks he is the Chief.

When she returns to work Nils is upset & asks her never to leave her work so & then berates her painting technique by manhandling her. Frances gets upset and leaves. She goes to a restaurant and notices Yasha behind her attempting to order pancakes. Yasha also reminds Frances of a boy from the paintings of the masters. She tries talking to Yasha but he seems despondent , pensive & lost. She turns around to ask him to join her table when she notices that he has disappeared.

When she returns to her trailer Nils has given her a flower by her doorstep & is apologetic to her & explains to her that they are two different colors "orange and blue" (contrasting primary colors). They return to work next day when Frances sees Yasha enter the Viking museum.

When she jumps out of the car to accost him she finds out that he is there to attend to his father's funeral - a father who was a baker who employed him in his bakery - a Russian gentleman who wished for a Viking funeral. Around this time Yasha's mother arrives (Olyana). Haldor asks her to leave because Yasha refuses to recognize anyone else when Olyana instead asks Haldor to jump in his place & Haldor mesmerized by her jumps.

They soon gather together to see the frozen body of Yasha's father & Yasha cries over it saying he is "finally free".

Soon after they proceed to carry the coffin by the seashore & place it in a replica of a Viking ship. Haldor attempts to recite a Viking greeting but Yasha instead speaks about his father & what a good person he was. They light the funeral pyre and disperse.

Frances & Yasha summit a hill & drink & then return to the bar & make love. As they are lying on the floor au natural the Norwegian Art Institute (NKI) representatives arrive to inspect the barn. Frances leaves with Yasha , both apologizing. Nils just stares silently at them.

Soon Frances returns to NY and Haldor wonders as he watches her depart if he is a "troll". The grocery store clerk (and subject of Frances's paintings) tells Haldor that she likes trolls : people who work in cold dark places & are big and strong and it is implied that maybe Haldor has found a friend.

When Frances returns her sister is married & her Dad makes an anxious speech about how worried he is that she has married out of her own free choice ignoring the advice of her parents. The closing scene is that of Frances' work being displayed and hailed as exceptional.

Cast[]

• Jenny Slate as Frances
• Alex Sharp as Yasha
• Zach Galifianakis as Haldor
• Gillian Anderson as Olyana
• Dan Puck as Robert
• Fridtjov Såheim as Nils
• David Paymer as Levi
• Jessica Hecht as Mirela
• Elise Kebler as Gaby
• Justus von Dohnányi as Ian
• Olek Krupa as Vassily
• David Corenswet as Scott Glenn

Production[]

On May 3, 2018, it was announced that David Wnendt would direct an adaptation of Rebecca Dinerstein's novel The Sunlit Night. Producers are set to include Jenny Slate, Fabian Gasmia, Ruben Thorkildsen, Michael B. Clark, and Alex Turtletaub. Production companies involved with the film include Deetailfilm and Ape&Bjørn.^[1][2][3] On June 14, 2018, it was reported that the film had received a one-off contribution of 2 million Norwegian kroner (€211,000) towards its production costs from the Norwegian Film Institute.^[4]

Alongside the initial production announcement, it was confirmed that Jenny Slate, Alex Sharp, Zach Galifianakis, Gillian Anderson, Dan Puck and Jessica Hecht had been cast in the film.^[1]

Principal photography began on April 30, 2018 in New York City.^[5] Filming took place from July to September 2018 in Norway.^[6]

Release[]

The film held its world premiere on January 26, 2019, at the Eccles Theater in Park City, Utah during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.^[7][8] It was released on July 17, 2020 by Quiver Distribution.^[9]</ref> The film will be released in Germany on September 23, 2021 by W-film Distribution.^[10]

Critical reception[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Sunlit Night holds an approval rating of 33% based on 58 reviews from critics with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Jenny Slate remains as charming as ever, but her winsome performance isn't enough to overcome The Sunlit Night's grating tone and meandering plot."^[11] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 47 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[12]

References[]

External links[]

• The Sunlit Night at IMDb
• The Sunlit Night at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Sunlit Night at Metacritic
• The Sunlit Night Official Website Germany