Movie Review: Sunshine Cleaning

Sunshine Cleaning is a movie about Rose and her sister Norah who form a bio hazard removal and crime scene cleanup business.

While at first this industry seems macabre, Rose sums it up nicely when she says "We come in to people's lives when they have experienced something profound and sad. They've lost somebody.... And we help. In some small way, we help."

The movie follows two young women and their family as they cope with a childhood tragedy and overcome personal adverse circumstances. In the process, the sisters clean up their own lives, learn to let go of pain, and begin to thrive as entrepreneurs.

I loved the movie because of two main themes. The first is that our work is our contribution to the world, and if we approach our job with an attitude of service to humanity, whatever we do becomes noble. Rose and Norah touched the lives of their clients with compassion, sensitivity, and respect. They helped people in the most terrible of circumstances.

The second theme is that out of tragedy, we can renew our lives and grow and thrive. Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh used to say that flowers grow out of garbage. The resiliency of humans is amazing, some of the strongest and most deeply compassionate people I know have experienced the most profound sadness. The human spirit can take these tragedies and transform them into opportunities for growth and maturity.

I would highly recommend this touching movie. After seeing it, I asked myself how I can approach what I do with an attitude of service to others, and I asked myself how I can turn adversity into growth.