Parents' Guide to

Sunday's Illness

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Slow-paced Spanish drama has drinking, mature themes.

Movie NR 2018 113 minutes
Sunday's Illness Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • Sunday's Illness Movie: Scene #1
  • Sunday's Illness Movie: Scene #2
  • Sunday's Illness Movie: Scene #3

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What's the Story?

In SUNDAY'S ILLNESS, Anabel (Susi Sanchez) is a wealthy philanthropist. While hosting an exclusive dinner party for charity, she recognizes one of the servers as Chiara (Barbara Lennie), the daughter Anabel abandoned decades before, when Chiara was 8. After meeting with Anabel and her lawyers, Chiara reveals her request: She wants Chiara and Anabel to spend 10 days together. After the 10 days, Chiara will legally renounce all relations. Anabel agrees to these terms and goes to the chalet on the border of France and Spain where Chiara lives, and where Anabel once lived before she left her daughter and husband. During the 10 days, Chiara makes no other demands but expresses passive hostility to Anabel in a variety of ways. But as the days and nights pass, the real reason Chiara has requested to see her mother is revealed, and the two must find a way to reconcile.

Is It Any Good?

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

The overall enjoyment of this drama is inevitably dependent on whether or not one likes slower-paced movies. Because, to put it into pretentious film school terms, Sunday's Illness makes Ingmar Bergman movies look like Michael Bay movies. There are times when this pacing serves the movie well. The estranged relationship between a mother and daughter has plenty of space to develop before the audience, and the actors have all the time they need to dig deep. But at other times, the pace is downright maddening. A simple short walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water feels like an eternity, overdone and unnecessary.

And yet, there are many beautiful images throughout the movie, the acting is unquestionably topnotch, and as the story unfolds, what emerges is a touching meditation on abandonment and reconciliation. It isn't for everybody, but for those in search of an alternative to the constant screaming, jolting, and overstimulation of the typical formulaic Hollywood movie, Sunday's Illness is a worthy choice.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about pacing in movies. What are the pros and cons of movies with slower scenes? Fast-paced scenes?

  • How is drinking shown in Sunday's Illness? Is it glamorized, or are the consequences of overindulgence shown?

  • How does the movie show the changing relationship between the mother and daughter?

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