Jamaican-born high-school senior Natasha Kingsley (Yara Shahidi) is facing what could be her last day in New York City, as she and her family are scheduled for deportation. Hoping for help from a sympathetic immigration lawyer (John Leguizamo), Natasha is gazing at Grand Central terminal’s huge, star-studded ceiling when she catches the eye of Korean-American Daniel Bae (Charles Melton), who is heading for a college interview. She aspires to be an astronomer; he wants to pursue poetry instead of following the medical career path carved out for him by his parents. When idealistic Daniel learns that Natasha doesn’t believe in romance, he challenges her to spend the day with him so they can fall in love. Do they? And can their love survive their respective, angst-filled dilemmas? Based on Nicola Yoon’s titular 2016 YA bestseller, Ry Russo-Young’s film is focused on problems faced by children of immigrants, with the lead characters loosely based on Jamaican author Yoon and her Korean-American husband (although neither faced these immigration issues). Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw delivers a virtual Big Apple travelogue, capturing Chinatown, the Financial District, the tram connecting Manhattan/Roosevelt Island, the Hayden Planetarium, and Harlem’s Apollo Theater. A strong optional purchase. (S. Granger)
The Sun Is Also a Star
Warner, 100 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $38.99, Aug. 20 Volume 34, Issue 5
The Sun Is Also a Star
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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