Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Carlson Young, Prime Video’s ‘The Last Sunrise‘ begins with Oriah “Ry” Pera heading to the island of Mallorca for a summer retreat, after her mother is called there for work. For the longest time, Ry has wished to break free of her mother’s overprotectiveness and see the world for herself, and soon enough, she gets a chance in the new town, where sun-kissed beaches, winding streets, and historical landmarks soon steal her attention. However, the biggest change in her life is the arrival of Julian, a local fisherman with whom she soon falls in love. As their relationships come to blossom, Ry’s secret, chronic condition, which she has kept hidden from everyone in Mallorca, begins affecting her body and mind alike, bringing the truth out into the open by force.
Ry Has Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, a Very Rare, Genetic Condition With No Cure
Towards the end of ‘The Last Sunrise,’ Ry reveals to Julian that she has tuberous sclerosis complex, also known as TSC, which is a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow in multiple organs of the body. These tumors, also known as hamartomas, are generally noncancerous in nature, meaning that they don’t spread to different parts of the body and grow slowly. Apart from the symptoms in the affected organs, neurological issues, particularly seizures, are the most noticeable symptoms of TSC, and that is also a large part of how it is depicted in the film. In Ry’s case, the tumors largely grow in her brain, triggering a series of effects that she often describes to her friends as a result of her epilepsy, which is only a partial truth.
While many people affected with TSC go on to have a normal lifespan, leaving the condition untreated or unchecked can cause major challenges. In the movie, Ry chooses to skip her medication for several days and weeks, and because of that, the tumors soon take a visible strain on her brain. While no cure exists for the condition as of writing, consistent care, treatment, and therapy are known to have an immensely positive effect, and we see a fictionalized version of that through Ry. Notably, this aspect of her is based on writer Anna Todd’s son, Asher, who also has TSC. Writing about the condition under a fictional setting proved to be an emotionally challenging experience for Anna, but at the same time, she also described it as therapeutic.
Ry Hides Her Condition to Avoid Having Her Relationships Identified By It
Interestingly, Ry makes a conscious effort to hide her condition from her new friends for almost the entire movie. While she is careful enough to let them know that she has Epilepsy, she skips the fact that it’s the symptom of a much more severe disease, one that she should be on medication for. By doing so, she ends up making things challenging for herself, leading us to a climax where a life-or-death surgery essentially gives her temporary amnesia. However, Ry doesn’t take such a drastic step for no reason, as throughout the movie, this decision gets connected to the very core of her character, that is, a drive to enjoy life and step beyond preestablished barriers in the name of comfort and security.
Ry notes that the regular medication makes her drowsy, and doesn’t allow for intense activities like swimming, and it is to rebel against these restrictions that she chooses to skip the medicines entirely. However, there is also a more thematically charged reason for her actions, and it is that she is never judged by her friends in Mallorca. For most of her life, Ry has been sheltered because of her condition, which likely made making genuine friends all too challenging. However, by hiding her real diagnosis, Ry hopes to create organic friendships that can exist independent of her condition.
As fate would have it, one of these friendships turns into a love story, and while Ry ultimately tells the truth to Julian and apologizes, by that point their relationship has its own, distinct identity, one not dependent on her genetic condition. The con of this line of thinking, however, is that he is left unprepared for when she gets hospitalized, and effectively loses all memories of him. It is only by the end that they reach a healthy compromise, where their love is neither defined by her condition, nor does it require Julian to be blind to it.
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