 Variety's David Rooney wrote, "A bruising, personal film based on the early adolescent experience of director Allison Anders, "Things Behind The Sun" centers on the meeting between two people scarred by childhood rape and their struggle to piece together the past and move on.Scripting with her "Border Radio" and "Sugar Town" collaborator Kurt Voss, Anders' primary theme is the need to return to the past and unearth suppressed memories in order for healing to begin.