Un grand voyage vers la nuit

I was ten years old in 1953 during the first heyday of 3-D movies. In the years since the novelty wore off, I have been sadly disappointed how few and far between memorable ones have been. WINGS OF COURAGE, POLAR EXPRESS, HUGO, AVATAR, THE FINEST HOURS and this film are pretty much the lot. Nevertheless, there is ubiquitous movie house 3-D capability, and lots of cheesy up-conversions of films made neither in nor for 3-D to occupy them. Alas, serious film makers have generally concluded that 3-D adds too little value to be worth the trouble.

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY is a live action evocation of a Munga-style comic. The second half is a dream sequence, set apart by what must be the first 3-D ever done with steady-cam. The story and characters did not particularly resonate with me. The many filmgoers who have never had the opportunity to see the "classics" of 3-D properly exhibited can recapture a good deal of the excitement here.

This film (which bears absolutely no resemblance to the well-known play with which it shares a title) is first and foremost an art film. Rather than containing a logical story, it is more about mood, tone, and memory. But it captures those things about as well as any film ever has.

It borrows a great deal from previous films in the art genre, including THE MIRROR as well as the films of Wong Kar-wai and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. So if you enjoy those kinds of films, this one is for you. It also has one of the best dream sequences of all time. Recommend for fans of Asian art films.

Caution...do not watch this movie if you're already sleepy, like I was.

I'd read enough about this film to know not to try too hard to understand it and just go with the flow. But even at that, I feel like I didn't figure out how to watch it until about the half-way mark....which is when the film's opening title appears on screen, if that gives you some idea about what to expect.

Those who become frustrated with this aggressively non-linear film may be tempted to dismiss it as a bunch of random disconnected scenes that don't add up to anything. Actually, I think the movie is very carefully constructed, using visual and thematic motifs (like apples, for instance) to connect one part to another. It's as close to a visual poem as you'll find short of an outright experimental film, where recurring images and sensations replace narrative storytelling.

It's a movie that I would probably get more out of by watching multiple times, when I can focus less on trying to figure out what's happening and more on the little clues dropped here and there to guide the viewer on his merry way. But here's the thing....this movie didn't pull me in enough the first time to make me want to put the energy into watching it again. It tries for dreamy, hypnotic, and romantic, but it only succeeded in being one out of the three for me, and there was something sort of coldly formal about it. Take, for example, the oft-mentioned final hour of the film, which unspools as one crazy complicated long take (and apparently was in 3D in the theater). It's impressive for sure, but it's also a stunt. I found myself paying attention to the technical considerations that went into pulling it off rather than anything really happening on the screen. And the whole movie is kind of like that. It didn't leave me puzzling over its enigmatic mysteries. It left me wondering "hmmm....wonder how they did THAT."

Grade: B+

"Long Day's Journey Into Night" is a dazzling and captivating look into the mind of one man's obsession with a woman who disappeared inexplicably from his life several years ago, and his odyssey to uncover her current location. As China's most financially successful arthouse release in history, foreign audiences will be equally captivated by this admittedly strange film's humanity, surrealism, and bizarre familiarity.

I first came to hear of this film after reading the extraordinary hype around its cinematography, which features a staggering 55-minute long cut that continues until the end of the film. Let me be abundantly clear that every ounce of this hype is deserved; perhaps even an understatement.

"Long Day's Journey" is quite possibly the most aesthetically beautiful film I've ever seen. If not, it is certainly in the top five. Nearly every single frame of this film looks like it could belong in an art museum. It is shot impeccably, without error, for its entire 133 minute runtime. The cinematographers -- of which there are three -- heavily rely on color contrast, distortion in the shape of oscillating water, gorgeous close-ups, and slow dollying. It attaches itself effortlessly to the film's dreamlike tone, like two perfect jigsaw pieces. It's a platitude, I know -- but it has to be seen to be believed. If there's any justice in the world, "Long Day's Journey" will be shown in college cinematography classes around the world for decades to come.

The film jumps back and forth from present day to roughly 20 years prior, when our protagonist Luo Hongwu (Huang Jue) was spending time with his since long-lost love, Wan Qiwen (Tang Wei). The cuts that change time periods are not always recognizable, and the overall delivery of the plot is muddled at times. I think that these subtle cuts were an intentional decision by the director, Bi Gan, to preserve a sense of dreamlike continuity that works in favor of the film's tone. Unfortunately, it messed with the overall comprehension of the plot -- at times it was unclear if the action on-screen was supposed to be occuring in present day, or in the past. About 30 minutes into the film, I noticed that Hongwu's facial hair was slightly different depending on the time frame; once I figured this out, the unclear timeline wasn't a huge issue for me. At the same time, I can completely understand why some would be utterly baffled by the film because of this. The two poor people who sat behind me never figured it out, frequently making comments about how confused they were, and I can't blame them.

But at the same time, "Long Day's Journey" isn't truly about the plot. It's about a man's mind, and the feelings of beauty, pain, darkness, and light that comes with the notion of loving someone you should've moved on from a decade ago. In a way, the cinematography and the fantastic score are the true "directors" of the film, and bring these themes to life even more than the plot itself.

The final 55 minutes of the film -- the long cut I mentioned earlier -- is a clear break from the rest of the film; an "epilogue" if you will. It is entirely surreal, perhaps even nonsensical, and heavily alludes to themes and symbolism from the first 90ish minutes...similar to a dream you might have about the day you just lived through. The ending of the film is ambiguous and open to interpretation, like all dreams are. To that end, if I had to describe the entire film in one word, it would certainly be "dreamlike."

This isn't a film for everybody, and that's okay. If you're turned off by nonlinear storytelling, "Long Day's Journey" won't do you any favors; it's not nearly as cohesive and accessible as other films that use the same format. However, I'd reckon that even if you had a difficult time understanding the plot, the overall tone and cinematography will guide you through the rest of the film. If you leave with nothing else, you'll have seen one of the most visually beautiful films of all time.

Take it to the bank, you'll see this film in the running for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars next year.

An unexpected gem, reminded me of early Wim Wenders or Jadorowsky. Obviously it's not a linear plot set in everyday reality, something that some reviewers seem to have not understood. It's metaphysical references resonate more and more strongly - mortality and transience, love and loss. It's disconcerting and haunting, very original.