Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Family movie night? There's an app for that

Download our new mobile app on iOS and Android.

Get the app
Parents' Guide to

Around the Sun

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Quirky romantic drama has some cursing.

Movie NR 2020 78 minutes
Around the Sun Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Around the Sun Movie: Scene #1
  • Around the Sun Movie: Scene #2
  • Around the Sun Movie: Scene #3

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

In AROUND THE SUN, Maggie (Cara Theobold) seems to be a real estate agent showing a rundown chateau in France to Bernard (Gethin Anthony), an English movie location scout. But immediately, that given is challenged: The movie abruptly starts again and reintroduces the characters. Bernard is now a tech company exec looking for new headquarters. Unprompted, Maggie is soon eloquently praising a favorite book written at the chateau in the 17th century by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, a mathematician and philosopher who discussed his theories of a "plurality of worlds" with the chateau's mistress, a charming marquise who longed for intellectual discourse. Occasionally, Maggie and Bernard appear in 17th century costume as those characters, discussing Fontenelle's theories and flirting. Bringing us back to Fontenelle's idea, different "worlds" are presented. In one, Bernard has a difficult marriage and faces the texted news that his wife is pregnant. In another version, he's divorced and available to take up with Maggie, and he too is enamored of the obscure work of Fontenelle. Where will these characters go from here?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is a unique film, peculiarly likable, but never answering the reasonable question "Why was this made?" Other questions include, "Why did Around the Sun start at least three different times, with different, confusing, and contradictory dialogue and circumstances each time?" We are left to wonder if anything we experience is real, or if everything is random and unfixed. Was there a pregnancy test? Is he married or divorced? Is he a movie location scout, or a tech guy looking for new headquarters? Or is he a 17th century French philosopher and mathematician? This deliberate uncertainty approach references the physicist Heisenberg's principle, but otherwise just makes the narrative unnecessarily confusing.

Although it feels good to know that people are still making thought-provoking movies, and even though the stimulating conversations cover both our understanding of Copernican astronomy and why we need love, dramatically we are never really invited into this story deeply enough to enjoy it. Still, the right teen will find lots to ponder and discuss here.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Around the Sun starts over several times. What do you think it adds to our understanding of the characters when the writer and director tell us different stories about the same people?

  • Does it seem likely that two strangers would speak as openly to each other about private details as presented here? Does it make the movie more compelling, or less?

  • Do you think experiments in filmmaking are worthwhile? Does this one succeed?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate