Long Day's Journey into NightThe difference between memory and dream is not so fine of a line. Long Day's Journey into Night is a Chinese drama and mystery about a man named Luo Hongwu (Huang Jue) who embarks on a quest to reunite with a long-lost love from twelve years prior named Wan Qiwen (Tang Wei) after he comes back to his home town of Kaili for his father's funeral. Luo tracks obscure clues that take him deep into his memories, as he recalls how he first met Wan on a train, her relationship with a gangster and karaoke enthusiast named Zuo Hongyuan (Yongzhong Chen), and his role in the death of his friend, Wildcat (Lee Hong-chi).
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Long Day's Journey into Night is a dreamy tale, described by some as "noir" or "arthouse". It gets this application because of the way in which it presents its narrative, varying between mysterious to outright oblique. The film delivers its backstory through flashbacks, although these flashbacks are almost indistinguishable from the present, and come without announcement. It opens with a dream of a woman's hand holding a microphone before seamlessly transitioning to Luo awakening from said dream in a sleazy hotel room with another woman. The story of Long Day's Journey into Night unfolds like a blossoming flower, with each petal revealing new details about Luo, Wan, and the others. Early in the movie, Luo sorrowfully recalls how Wildcat was found dead in a mineshaft, and since then he has found a thrill in putting himself in precarious positions. Yet this movie moves at a deliberately soporific pace, without any jumps or surprises, even when it suggests that a gunshot or falling glass of water will shatter the adamantine placidity. Furthermore, there are details that will forever remain withheld or are so vague that they can only be taken at face value, like why Luo treats Wan with disdain after first tracking her down on the train. On the other hand, given that Long Day's Journey into Night seems to shirk chronological order, maybe this actually happens later in their dysfunctional relationship. What the film encourages in its audience is that they piece together this puzzle of a narrative how they see fit...at least for the first half.
Long Day's Journey into Night became lauded for a technically impressive feat--a nearly hour long unbroken shot that comes at the end of the film, in 3-D no less. (It actually follows a title card that comes so late, it appears to have taken lessons on punctuality from Harry Lime.) From this point on, Long Day's Journey into Night feels like a different movie entirely, but this extensive second half is fundamentally a mirror image of what has come before. It explores details only mentioned in passing earlier, and in its ephemeral way leaves as many questions as it answers. The first half of the film is really a detective story blended with a romance. Luo and Wan--in her perpetual green dress--enjoy a tender relationship, but one that always feels saturated in sadness. (On that note, Long Day's Journey into Night is one of the wettest movies I've ever seen, between the flooded basement where Luo discovers a vintage photo that points him back toward Wen, to the constant rainfall.) But it gradually becomes clear that Wen is hiding more than she ever shares with Luo. In one instance, she tells him that she's pregnant, only to tell him that she had an abortion in the next sentence. Which is it? She also manages to compel him to murder Zuo in a theater so people will believe that the lethal gunshot came from the silver screen instead. But does Luo actually do it? Luo doubts Wen from the start, but allows himself to be taken in by her...a choice which haunts him for the rest of his days, and leads him on his quest from Kaili into the Chinese countryside. He interviews an inmate at a woman's prison and even Wildcat's mother (Sylvia Chang), gleaning more and more pieces of information that perpetually changes the audience's perception of their ill-fated relationship. But it is when the final act comes that the audience is afforded the right to paint their own final flourish on what is real and what isn't. After he tracks Wen down, Luo plans to reunite with her as she performs at an outdoor karaoke bar before it is torn down the next day; it is his last chance. But as he waits he falls asleep in a theater, and subsequently tries to escape through the dark by way of a railroad handcar. Then, he must win at a game of ping-pong against a young boy with no name, whom it is heavily suggested is either Luo's son via Wen and/or the reincarnation of Wildcat. Luo's journey to finally reunited with Wen seems to be constantly thwarted, tantalizing him with false incarnations and detours, like when he meets pool hall owner, Kaizhen, also played by Tang Wei, and he saves her from a couple of punks. (The film makes multiple references to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo by way of Kaizhen, including a kiss that causes the room to spin.) This last part of Long Day's Journey into Night reminds me of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, "The Unconsoled", since Luo constantly is on the verge of reaching his destination, but is held up at nearly ever turn. And yet, these distractions are the real adventure, and Luo is forced to confront the cold truth that the dream he had of Wan was--as most memories are--a blend of truth and lies.
Recommended for: Fans of a mysterious drama that draws from noir tropes and tells its story by way of a surreal dream. Long Day's Journey into Night can be impenetrable for audiences accustomed to a traditional narrative, but for those who are willing to let the experience wash over them and enjoy contemplating its mysteries after the credits roll, it has much to offer.
Long Day's Journey into Night became lauded for a technically impressive feat--a nearly hour long unbroken shot that comes at the end of the film, in 3-D no less. (It actually follows a title card that comes so late, it appears to have taken lessons on punctuality from Harry Lime.) From this point on, Long Day's Journey into Night feels like a different movie entirely, but this extensive second half is fundamentally a mirror image of what has come before. It explores details only mentioned in passing earlier, and in its ephemeral way leaves as many questions as it answers. The first half of the film is really a detective story blended with a romance. Luo and Wan--in her perpetual green dress--enjoy a tender relationship, but one that always feels saturated in sadness. (On that note, Long Day's Journey into Night is one of the wettest movies I've ever seen, between the flooded basement where Luo discovers a vintage photo that points him back toward Wen, to the constant rainfall.) But it gradually becomes clear that Wen is hiding more than she ever shares with Luo. In one instance, she tells him that she's pregnant, only to tell him that she had an abortion in the next sentence. Which is it? She also manages to compel him to murder Zuo in a theater so people will believe that the lethal gunshot came from the silver screen instead. But does Luo actually do it? Luo doubts Wen from the start, but allows himself to be taken in by her...a choice which haunts him for the rest of his days, and leads him on his quest from Kaili into the Chinese countryside. He interviews an inmate at a woman's prison and even Wildcat's mother (Sylvia Chang), gleaning more and more pieces of information that perpetually changes the audience's perception of their ill-fated relationship. But it is when the final act comes that the audience is afforded the right to paint their own final flourish on what is real and what isn't. After he tracks Wen down, Luo plans to reunite with her as she performs at an outdoor karaoke bar before it is torn down the next day; it is his last chance. But as he waits he falls asleep in a theater, and subsequently tries to escape through the dark by way of a railroad handcar. Then, he must win at a game of ping-pong against a young boy with no name, whom it is heavily suggested is either Luo's son via Wen and/or the reincarnation of Wildcat. Luo's journey to finally reunited with Wen seems to be constantly thwarted, tantalizing him with false incarnations and detours, like when he meets pool hall owner, Kaizhen, also played by Tang Wei, and he saves her from a couple of punks. (The film makes multiple references to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo by way of Kaizhen, including a kiss that causes the room to spin.) This last part of Long Day's Journey into Night reminds me of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, "The Unconsoled", since Luo constantly is on the verge of reaching his destination, but is held up at nearly ever turn. And yet, these distractions are the real adventure, and Luo is forced to confront the cold truth that the dream he had of Wan was--as most memories are--a blend of truth and lies.
Recommended for: Fans of a mysterious drama that draws from noir tropes and tells its story by way of a surreal dream. Long Day's Journey into Night can be impenetrable for audiences accustomed to a traditional narrative, but for those who are willing to let the experience wash over them and enjoy contemplating its mysteries after the credits roll, it has much to offer.