In this critically acclaimed Vietnamese drama, three sisters living in modern-day Hanoi — Lien (Tran Nu Yen Khe, Cyclo), Suong (Nguyen Nhu Quynh, The Chinese Botanist’s Daughters) and Khanh (Le Khanh) — prepare a banquet for the anniversary of their mother’s death. Upon the ending of the banquet, the three sisters’ personal lives go through different stages of distress, dealing with strife in their personal relationships and the revelation of a mysterious man who lingered throughout their mother’s life. Directed by Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya), THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN is a beautifully shot film that transports you into another world.

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Video Quality

The Vertical Ray of the Sun debuts on Blu-Ray in its original aspect ratio courtesy of a gorgeous presentation from Sony. There are no specific details on the provenance of this transfer, but we can surmise that Sony remastered this picture with great care sometime in the recent past. Audiences are treated to ideal natural film grain that resolves without swarming or clumping. Director Tran Anh Hung captures every moment with a delicate eye bursting with impeccable detail. This movie functions as a love letter to everyday moments of beauty, and that is represented well with this transfer.

Every unique facet comes through with desirable clarity, especially in the texture of the food, the clothing, and the production design. Facial features are robust with natural skin tones revealing peach fuzz and perspiration. Natural colors saturate the frame consistently. Black levels are deep without any ugly blocking or compression artifacts. Highlights are contained and never veer into blooming. Sony has rescued another gem from their archive and delivered it with the necessary care.

Audio Quality

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment delivers a Blu-Ray with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original Vietnamese with English subtitles that deftly reproduces the material. This is a very gentle track, but the nuances keep things sonically mesmerizing. The dialogue flows through crisp and clear without being swallowed up by the score or any environmental effects. The sounds in the rear speakers are not overwhelming, but they reasonably expand the spaces the characters occupy. The environmental effects work overtime to ensure this world sounds as complex as it needs. Sony has put forth good work here.

Special Features

There are no special features provided.

Final Thoughts

The Vertical Ray of the Sun is a patient, character-driven journey, yet it never loses its grip on your attention throughout its sturdy runtime. The way these characters interact so naturally lulls you into a trance that you might now want to leave for a long time. The direction from Tran Anh Hung is confident enough to let moments rest and soak in as much as they need to. The photography is lush and stunning, and thankfully the story is compelling enough to service it beyond surface-level accompaniment. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a fantastic A/V presentation but no special features. If you love a patient family drama, this one is worth having on your list. Recommended

The Vertical Ray of the Sun can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.