The Last Sunrise

After drawing attention with the horror film The Blazing World, Carlson Young ventures into completely different territory with The Last Sunrise. While the young director's bold move deserves appreciation, it's fair to say she struggles with the heavy clichés of the romantic drama genre. The film carries both the advantages and disadvantages of being adapted from a popular young adult novel.

The Last Sunrise tells the story of Ry, a college student battling a chronic illness. During a summer vacation in Mallorca with her mother, Ry meets Julian, a local waiter, and for the first time in her life begins to live in the moment without thinking about the future. However, her deteriorating health condition and secrets her family has long kept hidden threaten this brief but intense romance. While the screenplay addresses the chronic illness theme within a romantic framework, it cannot escape the shadow of predecessors like The Fault in Our Stars and Five Feet Apart.

The film's most notable aspect is its effort to avoid the melodrama trap that illness narratives often fall into. Rather than presenting Ry as a pitiful character, Young attempts to portray her as a complete individual with desires, fears, and dreams. While this approach succeeds particularly in the first half of the film, the screenplay's predictability in the second half undermines this intention. The family secrets element feels forced and fails to integrate organically into the story.

Maia Reficco, the young actress we know from the series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, delivers a quite sincere performance as Ry. Her ability to reflect the character's physical and emotional fragility without exaggeration forms the film's emotional core. Fernando Lindez shows a charismatic presence in the role of Julian, though the character's depth is unfortunately limited. Eva Longoria's experience in the overprotective mother role adds maturity to the film, while Andres Velencoso's character at the center of the family secrets remains underdeveloped.

The Last Sunrise's strongest aspect is undoubtedly its visual language. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw captures Mallorca's turquoise waters, stone streets, and golden sunsets breathtakingly. Particularly the beach scenes between Ry and Julian, with their masterful use of natural light, evoke cinema. Young uses the location not merely as a backdrop but as an integral part of the story. The contrast between Mallorca's vibrancy and Ry's fading life energy conveys the film's theme more effectively than verbal dialogue.

The music direction attempts to emphasize emotional moments with contemporary indie pop songs, but sometimes interrupts the natural flow of scenes. While the original score stands out with its minimalist approach, it falls short of creating a memorable theme. The editing pace is generally balanced, though some unnecessary extensions occur in the second act.

One interesting detail about the film's production process is Carlson Young's insistence on shooting in real locations in Mallorca for six weeks. The director maintained this determination despite budget constraints, believing a studio environment would destroy her film's authenticity. Maia Reficco conducted interviews with young people living with chronic illnesses while preparing for the role, trying to understand their daily life experiences. Fernando Lindez was given the freedom to improvise some of his dialogue to keep his Spanish accent authentic.

The Last Sunrise has a special resonance for Turkish audiences. Themes such as the warmth of Mediterranean culture, the strength of family bonds, and young people's search for freedom also resonate in our society. The film's struggle to hold onto life in the face of illness is a theme frequently explored in Turkish cinema in recent years. However, the superficiality that comes with being a Hollywood production prevents it from reaching the depth of local narratives.

The film offers a safe choice appealing to a young adult target audience. Carlson Young's visual storytelling power and the actors' sincere performances create a watchable experience, but the screenplay's reliance on clichés and inability to fully avoid emotional manipulation prevent The Last Sunrise from rising above a mid-level romantic drama. Still, Mallorca's enchanting beauty and the young actors' fresh energy can appeal to those seeking a relaxing film, especially on summer evenings. We hope Young will choose a more original story for her third film.