The Sun Is Also a Star
Natasha is a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. She is not the type of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when her family is twelve hours away from being deported. Falling in love with him will not be her story. Daniel has always been the good son, the good student, living up to his parents' high expectations. Never a poet. Or a dreamer. But when he sees her, he forgets all that. Something about Natasha makes him think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store - for both of them. Every moment has brought them to this single moment. A million futures lie before them. Which one will come true?
The film disappointed at the box office against its limited budget of $9.0M, earning $6.8M globally (-24% loss).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Sun Is Also a Star (2019) showcases carefully calibrated narrative design, characteristic of Ry Russo-Young's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 40 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.3, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Natasha prepares for her family's deportation to Jamaica, packing belongings while maintaining emotional distance and practicality about leaving America.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Daniel saves Natasha from being hit by a car in the street, their eyes meeting for the first time in a moment that feels like destiny.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Natasha actively chooses to spend the day with Daniel instead of just seeking his help, agreeing to his question game and opening herself to connection despite her imminent departure., moving from reaction to action.
At 51 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat Daniel and Natasha kiss for the first time on the roof, admitting their feelings for each other - a false victory as they've fallen in love but she still must leave the country tonight., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 75 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Natasha and Daniel have a devastating fight where she declares love is "just chemicals" and pushes him away, choosing science over faith to protect herself from the pain of their impossible situation., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Natasha realizes that love and connection matter even if they're fleeting, choosing to find Daniel before she leaves rather than protect herself from pain - embracing fate and feeling over pure logic., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Sun Is Also a Star's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping The Sun Is Also a Star against these established plot points, we can identify how Ry Russo-Young utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Sun Is Also a Star within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Natasha prepares for her family's deportation to Jamaica, packing belongings while maintaining emotional distance and practicality about leaving America.
Theme
Daniel's father tells him "You think you can control your destiny" during their conversation about his medical school interview, establishing the theme of fate versus choice.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to both protagonists' worlds: Natasha's scientific, pragmatic view as she faces deportation in 24 hours, and Daniel's romantic, poetic nature as he dreads his medical school interview.
Disruption
Daniel saves Natasha from being hit by a car in the street, their eyes meeting for the first time in a moment that feels like destiny.
Resistance
Daniel convinces skeptical Natasha to spend the day with him; they debate fate versus science while she pursues her appointment with an immigration lawyer. Daniel misses his med school interview to stay with her.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Natasha actively chooses to spend the day with Daniel instead of just seeking his help, agreeing to his question game and opening herself to connection despite her imminent departure.
Mirror World
Daniel takes Natasha to a Korean hair salon run by family friends where she experiences his world and cultural identity, beginning their deeper emotional connection beyond surface attraction.
Premise
The "promise of the premise" - Daniel and Natasha explore New York together, falling in love over the course of one day through visits to a karaoke bar, sharing poetry, and opening up about their dreams and fears.
Midpoint
Daniel and Natasha kiss for the first time on the roof, admitting their feelings for each other - a false victory as they've fallen in love but she still must leave the country tonight.
Opposition
Reality closes in: the immigration lawyer can't help, Daniel's parents discover his betrayal about the interview, and time literally runs out as Natasha's deportation deadline approaches. Their love seems impossible.
Collapse
Natasha and Daniel have a devastating fight where she declares love is "just chemicals" and pushes him away, choosing science over faith to protect herself from the pain of their impossible situation.
Crisis
Both characters process their heartbreak separately - Daniel returns home to face his disappointed parents, while Natasha prepares to leave with her family, each wondering if they made the right choice.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Natasha realizes that love and connection matter even if they're fleeting, choosing to find Daniel before she leaves rather than protect herself from pain - embracing fate and feeling over pure logic.
Synthesis
Natasha and Daniel reunite and spend her final hours together, making love and accepting their time together as meaningful despite its brevity. Flash-forward reveals their long-term impact on each other's lives.
Transformation
Years later, Natasha and Daniel reunite by chance, both transformed - she's become more open to fate and feeling, he's pursued his poetry, and their brief love changed their life trajectories forever.