Sophie and the Rising Sun 2016

     This film is based on a 2001 novel by August Trobaugh,  The setting of is in the autumn of 1941 in Salty Creek, South Carolina.  This is a fishing village alongside the creek.  Sophie Willis does a lot of fishing and crabbing, that’s about all she knows how to cook.  She also sells what she doesn’t use to the townsfolk.  An unusual thing happens in the town, Mr. Ohta is Japanese and he arrives in town on a bus.  He has been badly beaten and his circumstances are mysterious?  The people don’t know what to think and he goes to live with Anne Morrison until they can figure out what to do with him?  Unfortunately for Mr. Ohta, WWII is raging in Europe and Pear Harbor is bombed.  After Pearl Harbor, Mr. Ohta is in a LOT of danger!!  He says he was born in California and that’s where his people are still located?  The people don’t look at anything about Mr. Ohta except that he is Japanese and a hated enemy!!
     Mr. Ohta has done a lot of work for Anne in her garden.  Every season the hydrangeas need to be replanted and he has helped her with that work plus worked on her other plants.  Someone comes to Anne's home, they destroy the garden and they go through her home looking for Mr. Ohta.  All they can think of doing is to beat him up again!!  Anne will need to find another place for Mr. Ohta to stay since he's not safe at any location in Salty Creek.  4* (I really liked this movie)    

105 min, Drama directed and written by Maggie Greenwald with Julianne Nicholson, Takashi Yamaguchi, Margo Martindale, Diane Ladd, Lorraine Toussaint, Karen Wheeling Reynolds, Mickey Dodge, Don Henderson Baker, Joel Murray, David Dickson Reynolds, Kenneth Charles Graham, Sabrina Mayfield, Jan Hartsell, Cali Ward, Meredith Jackson. 

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 64% critic 59% audience, Metacritic 55 out of 100 with 5 critics, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 59 reviews, 3.1* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in McClellanville, South Carolina.  This is the second collaboration between Nicholson and Martindale.  Previously they appeared in August: Osage County 2013.  Premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.