> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://edn.as/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # MIFF 2026: The Sun Never Sets - URL: https://edn.as/miff-2026-the-sun-never-sets-sets/ - Published: 2026-08-21T14:58:17.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-21T14:59:09.000Z - Description: This film is one of the more light hearted choices for me this year. It’s a romantic comedy and the synopsis reminds me of the recent A24 film ‘Eternity’, where a person needs to choose between two people. - Author: Sande Harsa - Tags: movie-review, miff-2026 Melbourne International Film Festival 2026 is ongoing and I went to watch my eleventh session (of 13!) This post my short review of ‘**The Sun Never Sets**’ > For context: I am a photographer/youtuber that wants to up my cinematography and storytelling, that’s why I’m watching 13 sessions at the film festival PLUS reviewing them here on my blog! ## Why did I choose to watch this? This film is one of the more light hearted choices for me this year. It’s a romantic comedy and the synopsis reminds me of the recent A24 film ‘Eternity’, where a person needs to choose between two people. I like that this film’s characters are in the 30s-40s, in my age range basically. I think this would make the story somewhat more relatable. Similarly, I found that the manga ‘Hirayasumi’, about a 30 year old ex-actor living a quiet life, was quite relatable. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/16/4f/164f5675-f8de-440a-ae0a-ebe2c9767c26/content/images/2026/08/IMG_7180-1.jpeg) ## Who would I recommend this to? Those who like rom-coms! This one is quite funny, I loved the jokes in it. I feel like it’s not overly silly like some others. And it has a plus of being shot in Alaska, cool to see if you’re not familiar with the place. The film is also mostly improved, isn’t that cool? Joe Swanberg, the director, is well known for it. In the Q&A after the movie, he revealed that he had a 55-page document of the movie outline, with bits of sample dialogue - but not a line by line script. Intriguing! *Light spoilers ahead.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/16/4f/164f5675-f8de-440a-ae0a-ebe2c9767c26/content/images/2026/08/IMG_7183.jpeg) ## Structure The film starts of strong, after quick intros of the characters, they go into what it says on the synopsis: Wendy’s boyfriend, Jake, suggested that she takes the summer to date around and see what’s out there. Then the story picked up from there. They used sequences with music and footage to show advancement of time, like mini time skips. If I remember correctly, there were 3 of them. I feel like it was a good way to keep the audience engaged but still showing some of the mundane things that are useful to be shown but just compactly. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/16/4f/164f5675-f8de-440a-ae0a-ebe2c9767c26/content/images/2026/08/IMG_7181.jpeg) ## Narrative For the story, after Jake explains her suggestion to Wendy, the audience follows along her struggles and her confusion on her feelings. The up and down is quite funny, the turning point for Jake after realising that Wendy actually met an ex that was compatible with her was hilarious. Then perhaps you can imagine ways for the story to develop, and I think the way it went is not super crazy. The reason it’s interesting is the dialogue, acting, and the little details - instead of the overarching story. I think that’s wonderful! Suits the genre really well. At the end of it, I felt satisfied and glad that I went to watch it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/16/4f/164f5675-f8de-440a-ae0a-ebe2c9767c26/content/images/2026/08/IMG_7182.jpeg) ## Cinematography They shot the film with 35mm film, so the visuals are great. The colour and grain has the nostalgic quality that I love. Honestly, the cinematography just feels natural. There’s nothing that I picked up that was like “ohh that’s amazing”. Perhaps due to the story being so compelling and funny, the shots just feel one with the story. It must to do with the acting being great as well, it’s just immersive. The fast pace added to that too, no single shot is up for long enough for me to notice anything in particular. Or perhaps I’m just bad at noticing haha, keen to see how my eyes are different next MIFF! Oh, and the title ‘The Sun Never Sets’ is a reference to Alaska having the sun up 22 hours in a day. So when they shot scenes at night time at a bar, when the characters go out, it’d be bright and sunny, ha! As mentioned before the film was made off an outline document and not really a set script. The director, Joe, said that it made the filmmaking dynamic. They would go to shoot a scene, and perhaps it didn’t feel quite right, and for the next take they would do it just completely differently. Actors would give suggestions and ideas, or just anyone in the team really, and they would try it out. Sounds really cool, kinda like a ‘agile’ software development team haha (my day job is software engineering). ## Outro ‘The Sun Never Sets’ is a hilarious rom com set in present time Alaska. I feel like it doesn’t have silly cliche that makes some rom coms annoying, the storyline is well done, the acting is superb, the funny parts are reaaally funny. Recommended for a fun easy watch!